


Episode 2-08 - "The Wages of Fear"

by stgjr



Series: Undiscovered Frontier Season 2 - "Whispers of Destiny" [8]
Category: Multi-Fandom, Original Work, Star Trek
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Multiverse, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 18:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 38,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11064759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stgjr/pseuds/stgjr
Summary: Political tensions threaten to tear the Alliance apart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Teaser**  
  
  
 **6 May 2642  
  
2 Hours Ago**  
  
The system was a forgettable one, with no habitable worlds, terraformable worlds, or even asteroids or spatial bodies with valuable resources. On maps it was usually only identified as a system with a string of letters and/or numbers, regardless of the map-maker.  
  
But the reports had made it clear. For the last four months, the Nazi Reich had been using System S4W8-452TD as the location of a supply depot for the _Raumkriegsmarine_. It was one of many targets that were supporting the Reich's war effort. Its elimination would complicate Reich logistics and undermine the advantages of the Reich's shorter supply lines.  
  
That was why the _Starship Aurora_ and a complete battle group of the Alliance Stellar Navy had jumped into the system, the way prepared by jump probes dropped by the _Starship Albacore_.  
  
The plan, explained to Robert by Admiral Martino on the Earth Confederacy carrier _Themistocles_ , was a raid in the purest since. They would jump in via the probes and launch a full assault on the supply base, a space station in orbit around a planetoid-sized object along the main plane of 452TD's asteroid belt. The nearest enemy fleet unit was at least four hours away at even maximum warp, giving time to destroy even a heavily-shielded base.  
  
As it turned out, there was no supply base. Instead, within a pocket of local space that dampened sensor returns, there was a large Reich naval battle group waiting to commence a pre-planned warp jump to intercept them.  
  
On the bridge of the _Aurora_ , Robert could do nothing as the battle swiftly turned against them. The Nazis had numbers, and more than that, they had not one but _two_ _Aryan_ -class dreadnoughts, as well as one of the older _Lutzow_ -class battlecruisers, which were slamming their forces with super-disruptor fire. Sitting nearby, Locarno was reading off the incoming tactical reports. "We've just lost the _Umikaze_ and the _Ramage_."  
  
"Status on the _Themistocles_ ," Robert said. "We've got to get them free if we can."  
  
Locarno shook his head. "Their impulse drives are down. Warp systems not responding."  
  
On the screen, the _Aurora_ 's main weapons were busy hammering one of the dreadnoughts. Through concentration of fire, they'd managed to get its shields low enough that their heaviest weapons, the pulse plasma cannons, were blasting holes into its armored hide.  
  
But that left the battlecruiser and the second dreadnought to come after them and the _Themistocles_ , all while the swarms of _Z-2500s_ and the dozen plus _Dresden_ -class light cruisers decimated their supporting ships. And to make matters worse, without impulse drives, the _Themistocles_ couldn't jump. It wouldn't be able to enter a jump point under fire without impulse power.  
  
That thought crossed Robert's mind in regards to his own ship as it rocked steadily again. At the helm, filling in for Locarno, Ensign Violeta Arterria was busy maneuvering the kilometer-long _Aurora_ to minimize the effect of enemy fire, but even the most experienced ship pilot would have problems throwing off fire against a target as big as the _Aurora_. "Sir, we're losing impulse power!", she reported.  
  
Lucy was at Ops, filling in for Jarod, and added, "Primary and secondary shield generators are overwhelmed, tertiary generators are failing! Armor self-repair systems operating at seventy percent capacity."  
  
Robert keyed the intercom with his chair control. "Scotty, we're going to be sitting ducks!"  
  
" _I'm doin' all I can about it, sir!_ ," replied the experienced engineer. " _But we're takin' tae much fire, th' shields cannae keep up!_ "  
  
On the screen a Reich cruiser exploded, courtesy of the _Aurora_ 's main battery and a torpedo run from the _Koenig_. Zack's ship, with the _Trigger_ -class ships _Albacore_ and _Wahoo_ , moved on to attacking another target.  
  
"I'm picking up more ships coming out of warp!", Caterina cried out from the Science station. "Reich warships. Multiple cruisers and destroyers, attack ships… and one dreadnought." She swallowed. "Going by their profiles and ID codes… I think they're SS."  
  
Robert's stomach threatened to twist into the proverbial Gordian knot. "We can't win this," he muttered.  
  
"Command message from the _Themistocles_ , audio only," Locarno said.  
  
Admiral Martino's accented voice boomed over the speaker. " _All ships, break free and jump! The_ Themistocles _is lost!_ "  
  
Robert tapped a key on his chair to open the tactical communications line to Martino. "Admiral, we can try to tractor you into a jump point."  
  
The Italian man's response was immediate. " _Negative, Captain, you're out of position. If you come in to assist, the_ Aurora _will be lost as well. You must go!_ "  
  
Robert hated it, but Martino was right. The carrier was a lost cause. "Acknowledged. I'm sorry, Admiral."  
  
" _Godspeed, Captain._ "  
  
Even after the line cut, Robert wasn't quite done. "Can we beam anyone off of our crippled ships?", he asked Lucy. "Or out of our side's escape pods?"  
  
Lucy shook her head. "Not many. I've got all transporter stations working on it, though."  
  
That would have to be enough. Every survivor beamed away was one less survivor left to whatever torments the Reich had in store for them. Robert turned to face tactical. With Angel gone, Lieutenant Syrandi Luneri was manning the post. The purple-skinned, teal-spotted Dorei woman was proficient at tactical and had done what she could, but there were so many targets that she couldn't do much more. "Lieutenant, direct firepower forward. We're going to punch our way out."  
  
"Aye sir," Syrandi answered.  
  
"Nick, signal _Koenig_ , I want Zack at our side. Recall all fighters and signal any ship in range to follow us."  
  
"Sending signal now," Locarno said.  
  
"We'd better hurry," Cat added. "Those SS ships… they're not going after the _Themistocles_. They're after _us_."  
  
  
  
  
The bridge of the _Koenig_ had much the same atmosphere as the _Aurora_. Zack was focused on the tactical picture on his display and in his head as his ship, and its two half-sister ships ( _Cousin ships?_ , he mused), maneuvered closer to _Aurora_. A Nazi heavy cruiser moved to intercept them. "Get them out of the way, April!", he shouted.  
  
Lieutenant April Sherlily, his tactical officer, gave him an "Aye sir" as her first response. Her second response was a furious barrage of pulse phaser cannon fire that raked across the side of the heavy cruiser. Solar torpedoes rushed to join her shots.  
  
Other torpedoes and pulse cannon fire converged on the cruiser. Three attack ships might yet have failed to cut her side open like Zack had wanted, but the _Aurora_ sent several phaser beams into the cruiser as well. Its shields degraded from the barrage and his torpedoes, and those from other ships, hit home. The explosions flowered along the port side of the cruiser. At least one hit was a lucky one, as the enemy cruiser was clearly losing main power.  
  
It made its mark before dying, though. The cruiser's disruptors lashed out at the _Aurora_. Her navigational deflector sputtered and flickered as emerald beams stabbed away at it. Another beam, one of the last before the cruiser's guns went quiet, stabbed into the _Aurora_ 's lower starboard nacelle. Flame erupted from the wound, joined by wispy plasma leaking through the injury as the nacelle itself began to flicker from power loss.  
  
Zack checked his tactical display. Other ships were trying to break out with them. Some weren't making it.  
  
But something worse loomed over his tactical display. More enemy ships had entered the system, and they were heading right for the _Aurora_.  
  
"Those aren't _A-1700s_ ," Lt. Magda Navaez observed from ops. "It looks like a new assault ship design. I'm reading larger disruptor emitters. And their shield strength is stronger."  
  
"A new challenge, then," Zack announced, hoping that the confidence would ease the worry he knew the others had. "Ap, don't let them get too close to the _Aurora_. We need to make sure they break out."  
  
"Aye sir," Apley said.  
  
Within a minute combat was rejoined. Dark-hulled SS ships loomed ahead and turned the space around them into a flurry of emerald beams and bursts. Missiles streaked out and met the _Aurora_ 's point-defense phaser banks, strobing out as thin amber lines from the ship to meet the incoming missiles. But not every missile was stopped, and those that got through blasted through the _Aurora_ 's failing shields and scoured her armor and hull.  
  
Apley kept them moving, evading the incoming missile fire, while Sherlily maintained phaser fire on any target that presented itself.  
  
This changed at the approach of the enemy assault ships. They had previously been referred to as gunboats, reflecting that they were little more than flying cannon batteries easily smashed by the _Koenig_. But these ships were anything but. Sherlily's phaser barrages did a number on their shields, but they did not remove them with the speed or ease they might normally enjoy. And the enemy disruptor cannons and missile fire was tremendous. The _Koenig_ endured several hits that reduced its shields. The other ships with them were faring similarly, even as they sought to give as good as they got it.  
  
"We're losing dorsal shields," Magda warned.  
  
"Divert emergency power to shields and engines," Zack ordered.  
  
As he made the order, a Nazi dreadnought loomed ahead of them. The _Aryan_ -class ship was painted black as night, save for the swastika emblem of the Reich - the _Hakenkreuz_ of black on a white circle in a red field - and, as an SS ship, twin thunderbolts that looked like the letter "S". The ship had that same slanted look as most Reich ships, with the drive hull slanting upward to meet the blocky primary hull area.  
  
This ship was the most dangerous of the ones in their path because it had the largest "super-disruptors", large spinal mount disruptor cannons that could blast through even the toughest shields, along with smaller versions of the same that were multi-directional banks. If one of the spinal models hit the _Koenig_ , even their armor wouldn't save them. It would likely be a one-hit kill.  
  
But they weren't aiming at the _Koenig_ , but the _Aurora_.  
  
And Zack could do nothing as it fired.  
  
  
  
  
The entire bridge of the _Aurora_ felt like it was going to shake to pieces. "Direct hit!", Lucy reported. "Forward shields are down! They just…" She swallowed. "They just shot a hole clear through the primary hull! All primary hull decks have taken damage, multiple sections…"  
  
Robert looked to Lt. Tom Barnes, Scotty's main assistant, manning the engineering station on the side of the bridge. "Divert all power to shields and impulsor drives, now!"  
  
"I'm on it!", Barnes answered.  
  
The _Aurora_ 's shields, taking in power from the rest of the ship, strengthened partially. It wouldn't last, not with the shield generators overwhelmed, but it might get them clear.  
  
 _Might_.  
  
The weapons fire from the _Aurora_ ceased as the weapons were denied the energies they needed, everything devoted to the _Aurora_ 's escape from the deadly Nazi trap. Disruptor shots continued to strike the hull, missiles joining them as point-defensive fire couldn't keep up with the barrage. Syrandi wisely diverted the PD weapons' fire to the much deadlier shield-disrupting torpedoes that the enemy destroyers were chucking toward them.  
  
It was tense and close. Robert started to feel his breath come back to him as open space cleared on the monitor. They were doing it. They were almost out.  
  
"Sir, we don't have any warp power," Violeta reported. "We've got three damaged nacelles."  
  
"Forget about the warp drive. Send to all ships, jump as soon as they're clear!"  
  
  
  
  
Main Engineering on the _Koenig_ was in a state of surprising control, and that was mostly from the leadership of Lieutenant Karen Derbely, the ship's Chief Engineer, who had long made clear to her personnel what she expected of them in a crisis situation. "Lutal, Krrit, make sure those power conduits aren't overloading, we can't afford a short!", she cried out, looking over the Master Systems Display in the middle of Engineering. Into her communication line she added, "Hajar, I need you and a damage control team on Deck 3, Section D, the primary engine coupling is showing too much stress."  
  
" _On our way._ "  
  
Derbely stepped away from the display and went over toward the plasma coolant conduit with a scanner. With the rest of her team already busy dealing with the increasing damage, she was the only one who could ensure the vital piece of machinery was working, keeping the power conduits handling the tremendous energy being generated by the ship's naqia reactors from melting down. Her scan confirmed her fear, that the pounding they were taking was causing stress damage to the coolant lines. _I'm going to have to get a team on this_ , she thought, turning away from the coolant.  
  
Just as she was walking away, the ship rocked so violently Derbely was thrown to the floor. The intensity of the shock told her what the MSD would have if she looked toward it. The _Koenig_ had just suffered a direct hit, not just any direct hit, but one that had blasted through the armor and…  
  
There was a shriek of metal and a horrible slushing noise. Derbely's heart froze in fear the moment her mind realized what it was.  
  
The plasma coolant line had ruptured.  
  
Right beside her.  
  
In the end, she couldn't turn in time before the coolant struck her. All she could do was scream in agony until everything went dark.  
  
  
  
  
The _Koenig_ 's bridge had rocked just as violently at the impact. Their harnesses kept them in their seats, of course, but that meant Zack was sure he'd have a bruise over his chest. "Report!"  
  
"Direct hit on dorsal hull, we've been hulled!", Magda answered. "Damage to Decks 1 through 3, Sections C and D!" Magda noticed the blinking warning light. "We've got a plasma coolant link in Main Engineering!"  
  
Zack took that news with horror. Depending on which plasma line linked… if it was the post-cycle coolant, carrying heat away to the heat exchangers… that plasma would melt anything and everything down to the _bone_ if it hit them.  
  
Even worse, the ship's safety systems would kick in, shutting down any broken coolant lines to prevent further leakage, and in the process force the ship's power systems and drives to reduce output to prevent overheating.  
  
"I'm losing impulsor power!", Apley said.  
  
" _Bridge, this is Engineer Lang_ ," a man with a German accent said over the comms. " _The feeding coolant lines ruptured, we have lost one-third of our coolant capacity. Automatic systems are reducing power._ "  
  
"Override them!", Zack insisted, even as the thought _Where is Karen?_ went through his head. "We need every bit of power we can get to keep up!"  
  
" _Engaging overrides, sir. At our current rate of power usage, we have an estimated five minutes until the power systems overheat!_ "  
  
"Understood." Zack frowned. He was worried about Derbely, but that had to wait until his ship was clear. _In five minutes we'll either be safe or dead anyway._  
  
"Impulsor power back to enhanced level," Apley reported. "We're starting to clear them!"  
  
"Sir, the jump drive won't engage," Magda said. "That direct hit damaged it."  
  
"Signal the _Aurora_ and get us beside her, then," Zack urged. "We'll jump out with them."  
  
"Yes sir," Apley and Magda said simultaneously.  
  
  
  
  
On the _Aurora_ bridge, Robert watched with tentative relief as they seemed to clear the enemy squadron. "Engage jump drive on my mark!"  
  
On the screen they could already see green jump points forming around them. Individual ships, mostly the destroyers and attack ships that had evaded the overwhelming enemy fire,   
  
"Captain, the _Koenig_ just signaled." Locarno looked at Robert. "Their jump drive is down. They're moving to jump alongside us."  
  
"How long until they're in range to enter our jump point?"  
  
"Fifteen seconds!"  
  
"Jump when they're in position."  
  
The ship shook again. "That dreadnought's targeting our engines," Lucy said. "I'm not sure we have fifteen seconds."  
  
Barnes didn't have to be asked, considering it was the _Koenig_. "I'm diverting all available power to the aft shield generators!"  
  
The aft shields of the _Aurora_ strengthened as more disruptor fire and missiles crashed into them. With the dreadnought firing on them, it was a question of how much more they could take.  
  
"Aft shields at twenty-five percent," Lucy reported. The ship shuddered again. "Twenty-two… twenty… eighteen…"  
  
"The dreadnought is firing!", Cat added, seeking the power spike on her screens. She drew in a breath out of sheer terror at what that meant.  
  
The three spinal mount super-disruptors on the SS dreadnought fired at once. A last second roll of the ship by Violeta kept two from hitting the _Aurora_. The middle blast, however, could not be evaded.  
  
It speared the back of the primary hull, striking the docking port for the _Koenig_ directly. Flame and debris erupted from the wound now carved into the _Aurora_ as the shot carried into the hull areas adjacent to the dock and, above, to the primary shuttle bay. Further explosions went off, relatively minor, as several craft in the bay were damaged and destroyed by the blast.  
  
One of the misses also struck home, but not on the _Aurora_. Robert could only watch in horror as the _Albacore_ , just about fly into its jump point, was hit in the rear section by the disruptor beam. With the attack ship's shields battered to near-nothingness, its armor alone couldn't resist the blast. The _Trigger_ -class attack ship disintegrated until it was nothing but a cloud of debris. The jump point it generated closed as nothing kept it open any longer.  
  
A second later, _Koenig_ was alongside the _Aurora_. "Activating jump drive!", Lucy shouted.  
  
Ahead of them space was pulled open by an emerald flash that expanded into a swirling vortex. Violeta, and Apley on the _Koenig_ , put everything into their impulsor drives. Robert forced himself not to gulp as they came close, to within seconds, of escape, as it felt that any moment the Nazis might yet stop them, might shoot the jump point and de-stabilize it…  
  
Then the ship lurched below him, a familiar lurch, as it flew through the point. _Koenig_ surged ahead, entering a split second later.  
  
Ahead of them, the carnage of 452 TD had disappeared from the viewscreen. Instead it was New Liberty, spinning quietly as the Colony moved toward night.  
  
"We made it," Cat squeaked.  
  
Robert nodded and swallowed. "Nick, I want damage reports and casualty reports. Lucy…" Robert drew in a breath. "Get me Admiral Maran, highest priority."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"How did they know we were coming?", Cat asked. "I mean, were they expecting us? Was this a trap from the start?"  
  
"I don't know," Robert said. "But someone's going to have to find out."  
  
  


**Undiscovered Frontier  
_"The Wages of Fear"_**

 

  
**Now**

 

The tension on the bridge had mostly given way to post-battle exhaustion and relief when the word came that Julia and the others had arrived at Harvest in A4P5. Robert had Jupap, now manning Operations with Lucy and Tom Barnes off helping with the repairs, relay the message to the _Van Sickle_ to please provide the jump point, and the vessel's captain swiftly signaled agreement.

The squad cargo ship that came out of the jump point moved toward them for several moments before Jupap confirmed they were being hailed. "Put them on."

The screen shifted. Julia dominated the middle of it, but he could also see Angel and a Minbari in the background. " _Robert,_ what happened?", she asked.

"A disaster," he answered quietly. "Did you find Jarod?"

Julia nodded. " _He's right here. We got his family out too._ "

"At least something went right around here," mumbled Locarno, who was still in Julia's chair.

Julia noticed that too. " _I'll be right over with Angel and Meridina. We'll transfer the ship over to our allies._ "

" _I'm coming too,_ " Jarod added. " _You'll need everyone to start getting the ship fixed up._ "

Robert nodded. "It's good to see you're safe, Jarod. I just wish you didn't have to come home to this."

He nodded. " _It certainly wasn't the homecoming I expected._ "

"I imagine you'll want to spend time with your family…"

Jarod looked offscreen. A male voice with an English accent said, " _It's fine, Jarod. Emily and I will be here when you have time._ "

At that Jarod looked back to Robert and shook his head. " _I'll be over with the others._ "

"Alright. We'll beam you aboard as soon as you signal. _Aurora_ out."

The image disappeared from the screen. Once it was gone, Robert stood from his chair. "Nick, you've got the bridge. I want to go finish my full report to Admiral Maran." He looked to Jupap as he walked past, stopping briefly to face the Alakin Operations Officer. "If we get any signals from Command, let me know. Maybe… maybe the other attacks went off better."

Jupap nodded. "Yes sir," he chirped.

Robert nodded back, knowing his expressed optimism was sorely misplaced, and went into his office and straight to his desk.

 

 

 

With the _Deadman's Hand_ left to Lennier to land on the planet and turn over to the New Liberty police, Julia and the others made quick stops by their quarters to change into uniforms before they went on duty. Angel went off to take over Tactical, Meridina to her Security office, and Jarod was off to join up with the repair teams. That left Julia to head straight to the bridge.

When she got there, Locarno was in the command chair. He nodded at her and gestured toward Robert's bridge office. "He's waiting for you."

Julia nodded. "Who did we lose?"

Locarno sighed. "Most of the crew in and around the main shuttle bay. We took casualties on most of the decks, especially in the primary hull from that shot that went straight through. Right now we're looking at about a hundred and fifty casualties confirmed. At least forty dead." Locarno looked toward the viewscreen, where the _Koenig_ was visible. "Carrey's got eighteen casualties and at least six dead."

Julia felt her fists clench. A sudden thought seized her. _You were supposed to be here for this. If you'd been here, you could have made a difference._ She brushed it off, as much as she could, and asked, "What happened?"

"It was a trap," he replied. "Robert will fill you in."

Julia nodded. She turned away and went for the ready room door. As she did so her wound started to sting. Whether from something wrong with her bandaging or a psychosomatic response to her feelings on the situation… she couldn't tell.

Robert was at his desk, working the hard-light keyboard on the office's desk while looking at his screen. He looked up as she entered and stood to attention. "Julie," he said, signaling an intention to be informal. "It's good to see you. When Chief Almerda said you had left to rescue Jarod… well, given what he said about Parker's team I was a little worried."

"I understand." She went to a chair and sat down. The suddenness of the move did more to make her wound hurt, enough that an involuntary wince came across her face.

Robert noticed it immediately. "Are you okay? Were you hurt?"

"I'll live," Julia answered, although she was visible favoring the side that had been cut.

Robert could have actively sensed for her wound and known how much it had hurt, and what damage it'd done. As it was, between the fatigue in her features and the clear pain she felt, he knew Julia's wound was not insubstantial. But he couldn't bring himself to do that. It felt like it would be a violation of Julia's privacy.

"What happened?", she asked. "Nick said it was a trap."

"Admiral Maran had reports that the Reich's fleet movements were opening a window that would let us jump into their rear areas and hit their supply system before their fleets could respond. He threw every available ship he had into the mission, including the _Aurora_ , and we had to leave right away." Robert frowned and set his hands on the table. "But instead of an undefended supply base, we found a Reich attack fleet waiting in ambush." Robert put a hand on his chin and shook his head. "They went right after us and the _Themistocles_. They crippled her, and we couldn't stop it. We were lucky to escape in the end given the beating we took."

"Why didn't you jump to a repair yard?"

"Lucy just used our last jump coordinate to get us out quickly." Robert shook his head. "And with the damage to our impulsors and power systems, Scotty wants a few hours to complete some repairs before we jump again." Robert gestured to his computer. "So I'm passing the time getting a report filed." He sighed. "And worrying."

"About?"

"it's been two hours, and no word from Portland about what's going on," Robert said. "I'm worried about what happened, and… I'm worried that Admiral Maran was leading one of the task forces. If we lost him…"

The thought was a chilling one. Maran had become one of the most respected leaders in the Alliance. His loss would be a massive blow to Alliance morale, especially if it came with the losses this operation had caused.

Moreso, for them personally, it would mean losing one of their biggest supporters in the Alliance military command structure. And even if President Morgan selected someone else to head his Defense Staff, Admiral Davies would gain in authority and influence, and he had made it clear he intended to strip the _Aurora_ from them as part of his fears about the Gersallian Order of Swenya.

"I think we would have heard something if Admiral Maran as captured or dead," Julia said. "He's probably just busy trying to deal with what happened."

Robert frowned. "This was supposed to shorten the war. Now we might have prolonged it. We've lost the initiative we've been picking up. There's no telling how the Nazis are going to react."

"What's more important is how we react. We can't give up over a single setback, no matter how large."

"I hope enough people see it your way." Robert's thoughts about the politics were dark enough. Some of the Alliance states were still avoiding full application of their strength to the effort, forcing Morgan to burn political capital to cajole them into greater efforts. Now those states would be even more reluctant to expend their efforts.

Robert looked Julia over. "There's nothing more you can do, Julie. You should go see Leo about getting that fixed." His head nodded toward forward and slightly to the side.

"I can take over the bridge for Nick."

"Pacetti is already on his way to do that. Right now, you need medical attention." He could have ordered her, but Robert instead added, "Please."

Julia had a frustrated look on her face. But seeing the concerned look on Robert's and the pain still stinging in her side, she sighed and nodded. "I'll go down there right away."

"Thank you." Robert checked his screen. "Get some rest. I know you need to be in your own bed for a night of sleep. We'll talk again in the morning."

Julia nodded and stood from her chair. She left the room and returned to the bridge. Angela had relieved Lieutenant Luneri at Tactical and was looking over things. She caught Julia's eye, and the look they shared said it all.

_Could we have made a difference?_

 

 

 

The medbay was busy when Julia came on. Numerous crew were on the biobeds or stretchers, waiting for their turn to be treated for injuries sustained in the fight. Julia found it was standing room only.

"Commander." Nasri's voiced carried over the din of moans, ponderings, and quiet conversations. She walked up, looking tired herself. "What's wrong?"

"A cyborg with a sword tried to cut my head off," she replied. "I dodged and he cut below my ribs instead."

"A deep cut?"

"I figured it would need stitches. And Meridina was too tired to do anything for it."

"Come this way." Nasri led Julia beyond some of the patients and to her examination area, now vacant. "Let me see."

Julia pulled off her uniform jacket and the undershirt she wore beneath it, down to her undergarment. The bloodstain on the bandage had grown a little since Julia changed clothes. Julia waited for Nasri to look it over. She felt her pull the bandages back and examine the wound, which stung like hell. The bandage went back on. "It's not too deep of a cut, but deep enough that you would have needed stitches if we didn't have dermal regenerators." Nasri frowned. "But this will call for a heavy regenerator. I'll need to get you to a biobed and you'll have to wait for a unit to open up."

"Nick told me we had a hundred and fifty casualties."

"Closer to two hundred now," Nasri replied.

 _Over a tenth of the crew,_ Julia thought.

Nasri handed Julia a gown. "Put this on and bring your uniform." With the gown on and her uniform and undershirt under her left arm, Julia followed Nasri through the medbay to a group of biobeds with larger bits of medical equipment around them. The non-urgent operation ward was adjacent to the critical care ward and she could see worse cases inside.

"You'll be seen in order," Nasri said. "It's standard procedure, you understand."

"Yeah." Julia nodded. "I'll be fine."

Nasri nodded and guided her to one of the unused biobeds, beside the entrance to the critical ward. Julia sat on the biobed, which immediately began displaying general physical information regarding her on its main display.

She had only a few minutes of quiet before she saw Zack work his way in. He was in his uniform and looked much like Robert had. His eyes were focused on the door to the critical ward so much that he didn't notice her until she called out to him. "Zack." When he turned and looked her way, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"No," he admitted. "I lost too many people."

Julia nodded. Proportionally speaking, his casualties had been worse, eighteen in a crew of about fifty being over a third of his crew. The _Aurora_ was just starting to approach the ten percent loss mark in contrast. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"It wouldn't have changed anything," Zack answered, his eyes still distant. "We were betrayed. Or tricked. They were waiting for us and had us outnumbered and outgunned from the first shot." Zack shook his head. "Whoever screwed this up needs to be fired."

"I'm sure there will be an investigation." Julia chuckled bitterly. "Hell, I'm probably going to be investigated for everything I did to get Jarod back."

"Whatever you did, Julia, you actually _succeeded_. This was a complete fiasco, and it got good people killed."

"Who are you here to see?"

"Karen." Zack glanced in the direction of the critical ward. "When we took that direct hit that blew through our armor, the shock blew a coolant line in main engineering. The only reason she's alive is because it was the pre-cycle line."

Julia nodded. "I'll come with you, if you want."

The appreciation was visible on Zack's face. He accepted and they walked, together, into critical care.

The cases here were the worst of those who had a chance to survive. Missing limbs, burns, all sorts of injuries and damage were treated here.

There were fifty beds in this particular ward, arranged into rows of ten beds, with various pieces of medical equipment out for the use of the patients. Julia and Zack went over to one in the corner. If the name at the base of the bed hadn't read "K. Derbely", Julia would have never known it was her.

Virtually the entirety of Derbely's head was covered in bandages. What little was visible around her closed eyes showed signs of hideous burning. Aside from the gown she had heavy bandaging visible on every other portion of her body.

"It's a miracle she survived," Julia murmured.

"Yeah. A miracle," Zack said. There was a bitter tone in his voice. He looked over his unconscious chief engineer with a deep frown that contrasted heavily with the smiles he'd had just a couple of days ago. "My ship's been shot up, the Nazis kicked our asses… the way things are going, we _need_ miracles."

"Zack." Julia touched his hand. "You look exhausted. Maybe you should get some rest."

He turned his head and faced her. There was a look in his brown eyes, one of frustration and pain. Had he been in a better mood, he would have reacted to her clear need for rest. "I can't," he said. "I've got responsibilities."

Julia opened her mouth to speak further, but stopped herself. If their positions were reversed, she'd be feeling terrible too.

A treacherous voice in her head added, _And at least Zack was here for them, I can't say the same can I?_

"Zack, Julia."

Both turned to face an exhausted Leo, wearing his medical blues with a white lab coat. "We've done all we can for her now, Zack," Leo said. "Lieutenant Derbely will be transferred to a full medical station as soon as possible."

"Will she make it?', Zack asked. His voice was hollow.

Leo sighed and nodded slightly. "I'd give her good odds. Seventy percent for at least a partial recovery. We just have to keep the damaged tissues clean of infection until the specialists can begin a full dermal restoration on her. There may be other damage she'll need therapy for."

Zack showed relief at that. "At least we have that." Zack looked at Julia. "Any word on how long we have until we can dock again?" When she froze for the moment, Zack caught himself. "Oh, sorry," he said. "I forgot you didn't know." His words were calm and withdrawn, as if they hadn't just unintentionally acted as a means of brutally declaring "You wouldn't know because you weren't here".

Julia bit into her lip. Her eyes looked away from him.

Zack was still looking at Derbely and didn't notice the reaction. Nevertheless he sighed. "Well, I'd better get back to the ship. My crew needs me."

"Hopefully they'll have your dock fixed soon," Leo offered. "Your people need your quarters here on the _Aurora_ to get a proper rest."

Zack smirked at that. "Yeah, I know. So does my crew." He looked over to them and forced a smile to his face. "Thanks, Julie."

"What for?", she asked.

"For saving Jarod. We've lost enough friends and colleagues as it is." Zack walked past them. "I'll see you later."

They watched him leave the ward. Leo looked back to Julia. "Alright, let's get you back to the non-urgent ward." They walked out of the critical care ward and to the bed where Julia had left her uniform. Leo looked around and stepped away long enough to pull up a large dermal regenerator unit. "Lay down and let me see that wound."

Julia laid on her back on the bed. She raised the gown up past her belly to expose the bandaged wound. Leo pulled the bloodied bandages off and threw them in a biohazard receptacle. "Hrm. Not too deep. But deep enough. You're lucky you didn't lose more blood than you did." He scanned it. "No sign of infection. What happened anyway?"

For several moments Julia didn't answer. She was staring at the lights above on the ceiling. Her thoughts were entirely with the circumstances of what had happened. What had been done to her ship, her crew, while she was gone.

" _Julia_ ," Leo repeated, his voice now forceful. It snapped her out of her thoughts. "What happened?"

"A cyborg man, some ninja or something, tried to cut my head off," she answered. "I dodged and he just got me in the side."

"I'll say. The cut was precise. I'm surprised a sword managed such a clean cut, actually." Leo picked up a wand from the dermal regenerator unit. He pressed it around the wound. "I need to clean the wound out first, just to be on the safe side. I want to make sure you don't have any particles of your clothing left in that could lead to an infection later. Does it feel numb now?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Give me a little bit…"

Julia remained still as he worked. She ended up deep in thought again, even as her eyelids tugged downward until her eyes were closed. She fell asleep without intending to.

"Alright, all better," Leo declared.

That jolted her awake again. Julia sat up and looked down to where she'd been cut. There was just healthy light skin there now, a little pinkish in its color.

"You need some rest." Leo put away the dermal regenerator gear. Around them several of the people had changed.

"Leo…" She sat up. "You didn't skip me ahead in the line, did you?"

Leo smirked and shook his head. "No. I did defy Doctor Singh's insistence that I go get some sleep now that our immediate crisis cases are all handled. Technically I'm not supposed to be here."

"Well, I won't tell if you won't," Julia said, smiling as she did.

"You can change in my office," Leo offered. "And then I insist you get some rest. You lost some blood and you pushed yourself pretty hard, you need a couple of days to recuperate."

"I've got a ship that needs fixing, Leo," Julia reminded him. Her smile seemed more brittle now. "A couple of days is too much. But I'll give you tonight."

Leo shook his head. "I expected as much. Just take it easy."

"As much as I can. I promise."

Both knew that she wouldn't, that she couldn't. Not as things were. But Leo pretended to accept the promise and they walked away together, heading toward his office.

 

 

 

It was running late when Robert emerged from his bridge office, all reports written and filed. The damage report from Scotty had made for sobering reading. The main shuttle bay had taken severe damage and would need reconstruction. Half of the ship's shuttles were completely destroyed or so damaged that they would have to be written off, and most of the rest would need extensive repair work. The runabouts were in similar shape: the _Susquehanna_ , _Vistula_ , and _Rhine_ were utterly trashed and would have to be scrapped; every other runabout had taken major damage. Adjacent to the main shuttle bay, the docking bay for the _Koenig_ was wrecked and would have to be rebuilt.

The primary hull would also need weeks worth of reconstruction work at the L2M1 Earth Fleet Base, especially given the hole that had been blasted into it. Dozens of crew had lost their quarters to the blast and were being re-billeted in spare quarters or, where necessary, the holodecks. Robert had nearly even ordered that the senior staff officer quarters be opened up to them, just for Locarno to point out that it was unnecessary given the other available room on the ship.

 _Six weeks repair time, minimum_ , Robert mused quietly. He walked toward the central chair, where a much-fatigued Locarno was still sitting. "You're relieved Lieutenant," he said.

Locarno stood up. "Yes sir." He examined Robert's own state of post-battle exhaustion and added, "I suggest you stand down for relief as well, Captain. You need your rest."

"I'll head down soon," Robert promised. "I'm just waiting for a call from Portland before I can rest."

"I'll send Pacetti up," Locarno said. "So that you can stand relieved when you're ready to sleep."

"Thank you, Nick."

Locarno gave him a final nod and, with barely-disguised relief, went to the bridge lift. Robert settled into his command chair and watched the New Liberty Colony's lights on the screen. If he wasn't careful, he would nod off right here in his chair.

He nearly did, in fact, and he jolted to full wakefulness when he heard the chirp from Operations that confirmed an incoming signal. Jupap turned his feathered head back enough that Robert could see his beak move. "Captain, priority call from Defense Command. Admiral Maran is on for you."

"Put him through." Robert stood as the screen flashed. Seeing the dark-haired Gersallian admiral appear, wolfish gray along his hairline as always, was a relief. Robert had been terrified that he'd been with the attack and was lost. "Admiral."

" _Captain._ " Maran nodded quietly. " _My apologies for taking so long. I've been in Defense Staff meetings for hours. You don't know how grateful I was to get confirmation of your survival. The President was relieved when your signal came in to Portland._ "

"Thank you, sir." Robert swallowed. "How bad was it?"

" _It was a disaster, Captain, make no mistake about that. Our losses in ships went over the fifty percent mark. Three quarters of the capital ships we assigned, carriers and dreadnoughts, were lost._ " Maran's tone was somber. And Robert could see that, stoic as he always was, something was weighing heavily on him, in a way that it hadn't even during the dark days of the prior July when the war had just begun and the Nazis were pummeling their way through Alliance space. " _Our gamble was turned against us._ "

"The Nazis dangled the bait and we went for it," Robert said.

" _That is one theory. There is another one, however, and it is far more terrifying._ "

Robert blinked at that. "Which is…?"

Maran's expression turned grim. " _The Defense Committee has decided to order an investigation, Captain, into the operation. We have reason to believe that this wasn't simply a random trap set by our enemies._ "

"What do you mean…?"

Maran's voice took on a hard edge to it. " _I'm not at liberty to discuss the issue over a communication. Not even over a priority encrypted line. How soon can you jump again?_ "

"Mister Scott needs to shore up several elements of our power systems, the battle damage and our last jump overloaded some of our systems. He's due to give me an update in the morning sometime around 0600."

Maran nodded stiffly. " _Very well. As soon as you can jump, I want_ Aurora _back at the Fleet Base, I have a dock already set aside for her and a berth for the_ Koenig _. Preferably I want you and a contingent of officers that you trust in Portland by 1000._ "

"Yes sir," Robert replied, and he refrained from giving any voice to his immense worry over Maran's words. "We'll be there."

" _I'll be expecting you, Captain, at Defense Command. Maran out._ "

The transmission ended and the view shifted back to the planet. Robert immediately wondered what Maran meant by the trap not being random.

But first things first. He did need to get some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Political tensions threaten to tear the Alliance apart.

It was nearly 2400 ship time when Meridina returned to her quarters. It had taken some time to go through all the reports from security, many of whom were now working to help with some of the repairs. Meridina was pleased with how well the work went without her immediate presence.  
  
Now that she was alone, she had time to look into her own curiosity. She went to her table and to the item she'd left there upon her return to the _Aurora_. Dralan Olati's _lakesh_ waited for her scrutiny.  
  
It was a competently-crafted _lakesh_ , good handiwork. The type that came from a trained _swevyra'se_ like her, and therefore indicated training in the Order. "Computer," she said, "please connect to the Order of Swenya database on Gersal."  
  
" _Connecting._ "  
  
As she waited for the connection to finalize, Meridina examined the rest of the weapon. Engraved on the hilt were a series of characters. An inscription, a phrase or sentence, that she did not understand. The characters did look like they were related to High Gersallian, but yet they meant nothing even if she assumed specific letters to be similar letters in HIgh Gersallian. Clearly this mysterious inscription was written in something entirely different.  
  
A cold feeling came to her. Dralan Olati had been a killer, driven entirely by his dark impulses with no real freedom to decide his course. She had never seen someone like him before. Not someone with a developed set of life force power.  
  
But she had that in her too. The darkness she had felt within her since the Goa'uld Amaunet had infested her and used her to hurt, kill, and torment. She meditated on it, she focused herself on the light, on her highest emotions or simply upon the wholesome light within… but the dark wouldn't go away. It started to feel as if had always been there and had only chosen now to come out.  
  
That thought was perhaps the one that scared her most of all.  
  
" _Connection established_ ," the computer said.  
  
"Search the temple archives for a man named Dralan Olati."  
  
" _Accessing. Accessing._ " For several moments nothing came. Finally… " _Search complete. No records found._ "  
  
Meridina frowned at that. "Computer, are you sure?"  
  
" _All records have been scanned. There is no indication of Dralan Olati._  
  
 _That makes no sense. HoW could he have made such a [i]lakesh_ without training from our Order[/i] "Computer, there are two things I wish to process tonight. First, expand the search for Dralan Olani to public Interdependency records. Authorization code _Kul-ta-ta-je-omal te_."  
  
" _Authorization code processed. Accepted. Beginning search. Awaiting second input._ "  
  
Meridina laid the _lakesh_ on the table and accessed her multidevice. With a few key strokes she took images of the weapon. Another two keystrokes and the images now appeared on her computer display. "Computer, cross-reference these markings. They appear to be a form of Gersallian. Please check for any Gersallian dialect that uses them."  
  
" _Beginning search._ "  
  
"How long until the searches are complete?", Meridina asked.  
  
" _Estimated time to completion at current data transfer rate: 16 hours thirty-five minutes._ "  
  
So that was that. There was no point staying up any longer, not when there would be a staff meeting in the morning. "Thank you," she said, rising from her chair. She began to pull off the duty uniform as she made her way to the bedroom section of her quarters.  
  
  
  
  
At 0630 the following morning, a thoroughly exhausted _Aurora_ command staff were in their conference room, as was an equally exhausted _Koenig_ staff.  
  
The most exhausted of all were those who had been involved in the repairs. Scotty looked like he was about to fall asleep at the table. Jarod, Barnes, and Lucy all had varying degrees of deep fatigue written on their expressions, fatigue that even Hargert's best coffee was having trouble dispelling. The others on the command crew were better off in appearance, but it was clear that their morale was low and everyone was tired and upset.  
  
Robert started the meeting with a look toward Scotty. "Mister Scott, Admiral Maran has a repair dock waiting for us at the L2M1 Earth Fleet Base. Can we jump yet?"  
  
"I'll need a few more hours, sir," he said. "Lt. Nesay is busy finishin' repairs on the warp nacelle struts, an' we cannae jump safely until th' power supply systems have been checked. That's goin' tae take a few hours."  
  
"You have until 0900," Robert replied. "We're due in Portland at 1000."  
  
Scotty started to protest but stopped. "I'll see what I can do, sir."  
  
Knowing Scotty would do just that, Robert turned his attention to Zack. "Has the _Koenig_ regained its jump capability?"  
  
Zack shook his head. "The blast damaged the primary particle feed for the drive, so we can't generate a jump point until its fixed. And with our reduced Engineering staff, Ensign Hajar estimates another day worth of repairs to handle it. Half a day with every member of my crew on repair duties."  
  
"Hajar?", Julia asked.  
  
"She's the senior surviving officer assigned to engineering," Zack answered. "With Karen gone and Lieutenant Trelit dead."  
  
"Right. Sorry." Julia looked away, with her face showing she was deep in thought.  
  
"We'll jump you with us then," Robert said. "Admiral Maran has a repair berth ready for your ship too."  
  
"Good. With a full dock team, _Koenig_ should be ready for duty in a couple of weeks."  
  
Robert looked to his digital notepad. His last item, and worst, was now up. "Do we have a final casualty count?"  
  
"Three hundred and seventy-six casualties of all kinds have been accounted for by the medbay staff," Leo revealed. "Sixty-one dead."  
  
The news hung over the room. It was stifling in its depressive strength.  
  
"We still have about forty-six cases in the critical care ward that I'll want to offload to fleet hospitals as soon as possible, for the best possible care," Leo continued. He glanced Zack's way; one of those forty-six was Karen Derbely. "Another thirty of the critical cases we've got are not so critical we need them taken off our hands. Most of the rest are injuries we've been able to treat. I have a listing of who is fit for full duty or must be restricted in duty. I'll forward it to Julia when we're done."  
  
She nodded. "I'll make sure all department heads and shift officers are made aware of who is available. Although given how long we'll be in the dockyard this time, I imagine we're going to have a lot of crew changing anyway."  
  
"I'll let you deal with the issue as you see fit," Robert replied. He put the notepad down. "Okay everyone, this meeting is dismissed."  
  
As everyone stepped out, Robert found he was looking at Julia. She hadn't slept well - then again, few of them had - and she seemed distracted. "Are you okay?", he asked.  
  
Julia looked at him. She remained silent for several moments before shaking her head. "No. No, I'm just thinking about things."  
  
"Chief Almerda sent a report last night. They finished clearing evidence from the _Deadman's Hand_. The people you worked with put in their statements and were free to go. Apparently Captain Thrace and Anders got a jump to N2S7 late last night, so they're already gone." Robert used his notepad to check a part of the message. "Almerda's going to turn the ship over to FedStar authorities. He found out there's an active case against the ship's former controller. By taking him down and bringing her in, you're going to be liable to part of the reward once the FedStar admiralty courts finish dealing with it."  
  
"I guess Zaeed will get some cash out of it after all," Julia murmured, but she still had that distant look in her eyes.  
  
"Julie? Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm alright," she said. "Anyway, I need to get to my office and start going over the personnel reviews for the battle."  
  
"Nick should have filed his report by now, so you don't have to worry about that."  
  
Immediately Robert could tell something was wrong, given the surge of shame and frustration that flared inside of Julia . "Yeah, he would be the right one to do that, wouldn't he?" She stood up. "I'll be in my office, let me know if you need anything."  
  
"As soon as we get to L2M1, I need to go down to Portland to see Admiral Maran," Robert said.  
  
"Then I'll take over repair command duties while you do. Until then." Without another word, she was gone, leaving Robert to sit, alone, to ponder Maran's message.  
  
Whatever was going on, he knew he wouldn't like it.  
  
  
  
  
In the end, Scotty got them jump-capable at 0842.  
  
The _Aurora_ locked onto the jump anchor for Earth L2M1 and jumped through, arriving a few kilometers off of the Fleet Base's repair yards section. Numerous ships were already taking up much of the berths, some survivors of the disaster, others here due to other causes. As promised Maran had berths ready for them, in two dry-dock sections in the various wings for their appropriate sizes. He also had a shuttle waiting for Robert.  
  
Robert had heard the "contingent of officers you trust" and decided it meant Maran wanted people who could help with whatever was going on, presumably an investigation. With dock repair teams now present to help Scotty's engineers, he decided that meant Meridina, Jarod, and Lucy.  
  
The shuttle, a Gersallian-built one simply designated in Gersallian letters and numbers - roughly something like LRT-3924 - flew them down to Defense Command. The pilot was a young man, a Human with clear mixed-ethnic backgrounds who identified himself as Ensign Cloudrunner.  
  
Defense Command was built just west of where the Willamette River flowed into the Columbia, near Lake Vancouver, on what was once (on L2M1 anyway) the Washington State bank of the river. The six azure structures towered over the river, the five outer ones arranged in the form of a five-point star and linked to the central one by enclosed foot bridges. For Robert, who grew up with news reports about "the Pentagon" - even his father's stories of visiting there during his time in the US Navy - this towering structure was clearly the Allied Systems' equivalent of that building.  
  
Once they'd landed, they went off to the floors in the central building with the main offices. Admiral Maran's office was toward the middle of the 11th floor as a privilege of rank; the offices there were closer to the officer's club, the large fifth floor food court, and the eighth floor's air-car bays. The latter was a real luxury as there were no transporter stations in the Defense Command structure, and all travel to and from Command was tightly secured. More tightly, in fact, than they'd seen the last time they were nearly a year prior.  
  
 _The last time we were here, Defense Minister Hawthorne and Admiral Davies were trying to railroad us and kick us off our ship_ , Robert thought sullenly. Finding out later that the two had initially _won_ , that they had convinced the Defense Committee, or at least a majority of it, to vote against Robert and the others, had been a real sting.  
  
Finding out that the Gersallians and several other states had threatened to leave the Alliance if the vote wasn't reversed? That had actually scared him. More than anything, Robert wanted the Alliance to succeed and to thrive. He certainly didn't want to be the cause of it being ripped apart.  
  
At Admiral Maran's office they were met by a young man with a dark brown complexion. "I am Commander Kanelas," he said, with an accent Robert had not heard before. Kanelas looked to Meridina and gave her a respectful bow of the head. " _Swevyra'se, kima iso tuna._ "  
  
Meridina answered with a head bow of her own. " _Kima iso tuna. Mi rake sa swevyra iso._ "  
  
They exchanged a few more lines before Kanelas looked to them. "My apologies, I have forgotten myself. Admiral Maran is currently in a teleconference with Admiral Relini. I will inform him you've arrived." Kanelas nodded again and walked into the next room.  
  
Robert turned his head to mumble, "Do you understand…?" at Jarod.  
  
"I don't think they're talking about tuna," Jarod replied, cutting off the question.  
  
"I figured you'd have learned Gersallian by now, being a Pretender and all."  
  
Jarod snorted. "I'm the Operations Officer of a kilometer-long starship with two thousand people always on board. I'm not going through my list of 'learn this thing' as fast as I used to. Learning Gersallian is still in the mid-40s, and I probably won't get to that for another eighteen months."  
  
A bemused little smile was clear on Meridina's face at their exchange. "I would be happy to assist you with such, Commander Jarod," she said. "My apologies for not translating. Commander Kanelas is from Otapil on our main southern continent. The Otapin are among the Order's strongest supporters. Their people consider it proper to show immediate reverence to a Knight of Swenya."  
  
"Ah." Robert nodded. "Well, as long as you're not talking about us behind our back."  
  
"Perish the thought." Meridina turned away, satisfied with the exchange.  
  
"Shouldn't you have learned this language yourself?", Jarod inquired quietly. "She's teaching you, after all."  
  
"I know. But while I can pronounce German well enough that I've met Germans who think I've been in America too long instead of realizing I'm actually American, I can't even say ' _swevyra_ ' without my tongue going thick."  
  
"It's because you try too hard," Lucy said.  
  
The door opened again. Kanelis emerged partially. "Admiral Maran is ready for you."  
  
Robert and the others stepped into the office, where Maran was standing behind his desk. The torch-and-tetracolor flag of the Allied Systems was beside his desk, as was one showing the Seal of Defense Command and it's quartered shield under the Alliance torch insignia. His work area had several digital pads upon it, presumably each secured and only containing specific and isolated classified data. A hard-light keyboard was still visible. He had been typing only moments ago.  
  
"Admiral, sir. I've brought Commander Jarod, Commander Meridina, and Lieutenant Lucero. I trust all of my officers, but I considered they would be the ones you wanted to have in this situation."  
  
"Your consideration was accurate, Captain." Maran's expression was grave. He'd clearly been up much of the night. "I'm going to make the facts plain. We were deceived. Most of the systems did not, in fact, have the sort of supply targets we had been led to expect. Instead it would appear that the enemy used electronic warfare to deceive our scouts. The apparent opening in their deployment schedule was clearly feigned to provoke an attack by us that could be ambushed."  
  
"How bad is it?", Robert asked.  
  
"Our last estimates are in. We launched four hundred and twelve ships into that attack. Only two hundred and seven returned, all damaged to varying extents. Out of twenty dreadnought-class warships, only six returned, and only ten of eighteen carriers. We also lost two-thirds of our cruisers."  
  
Robert couldn't help but swallow. The _Aurora_ had been one of those lucky third to escape. "What does this mean for the war?"  
  
"It will not cost us the war, at least not militarily. But it has set back our time-tables for further military operations. Admiral Relini has been forced to call off her planned offensive and is preparing defensive positions."  
  
Robert caught that first sentence, especially its uncertain ending. " _...at least not militarily_." "There's more to this, isn't there?"  
  
Maran nodded. "There is. And I didn't dare mention it over a channel, not even one that's encrypted." Maran reached for his desk drawer and pulled out an electronic device of some sort, a small curved shape with a light on the end that he brought on with a squeeze of his fingers. The green light blinked several times before a second green light activated. "There," Maran said. "We're secure."  
  
"You're afraid of electronic bugs," Jarod said.  
  
"I have to be." Maran sat down. With a hand gesture he invited Robert and his officers to take seats in the nearby chairs and couch. "I must be blunt. The Intelligence Office has discovered signs that some of our operational planning, including the proposals for the raid we just attempted, has been compromised."  
  
The implications were clear. Robert's jaw fell slightly as he processed the thought. "You mean they say we've got a spy in Defense Command. That someone leaked this stuff to the Nazis and they planned the ambushes from that?"  
  
"I do. So does the President, and the Defense Committee, and several members of the Senate." Maran put his hands on his desk. "We need to find out the truth of this, and now. Otherwise we may be facing the end of the political willingness to continue the war."  
  
"You can't be serious," Lucy gasped. "They'd try to make a deal with _Nazis_?"  
  
Maran shook his head. "When people are desperate enough for peace? I can see them doing anything. Councilman Pensley has gone as far as to threaten to encourage his government to withdraw from the Alliance if we don't change how the war is prosecuted or offer peace to the Reich."  
  
"Pensley would be the one who is convinced that I instigated the war on purpose," Robert recalled.  
  
"Yes. He's argued repeatedly for your court-martial, in fact. Even Admiral Davies has grown tired of the man."  
  
"And here I thought Davies would back that," Lucy muttered.  
  
"Admiral Davies is a complicated man. But he does know the scope of the threat we're facing, and he has no illusions that any peace with the Nazi Reich is possible. He and Pensley are not allies."  
  
"He tried to bribe Zack into turning against us during the hearings last year," Lucy retorted. Robert winced at the surge of anger he felt within her. "He sent Commander King to _spy_ on us, and he's using Naval Intelligence to spy on your people! Complicated, hell, he's as much a threat to the Alliance as Pensley is!"  
  
"Lieutenant, calm down," Maran ordered. His tone was still quiet and patient, but there was an edge to it when he said that, an edge that told Lucy (and Robert) that in this he damn well expected to be obeyed.  
  
Meridina gave Lucy a worried look. The angry snarl on Lucy's face faded. "I'm sorry, Admiral," she said. "I was out of line."  
  
"Yes, you were," was Maran's quiet reply. It was a rebuke, and Lucy took it as such. "The reason I summoned you here is that I'm compiling a task force of officers to investigate the matter and report on it to the Defense Committee. Officers who are not assigned to Defense Command and who have extensive combat experience against the Reich."  
  
"And who couldn't have been in a position to be the leak," Jarod noted.  
  
"Yes." Maran looked at Robert. "The _Aurora_ will be spending over a month in drydock for repairs, Captain, so for the time being, I'm assigning you to oversee the investigation."  
  
Robert blinked at that. "Me? But… I don't have counter-intelligence experience, or investigative experience."  
  
"No. But I'm aware you have other potential talents to help give you insight into evidence that is discovered."  
  
"Admiral, is this wise?" Meridina kept her voice respectful. "Knowing how certain factions in the Alliance government feel about the Order, and anything that seems linked to them, the fact that Captain Dale has our abilities will mean that those opposed to the Order will be suspicious of his findings."  
  
"You are correct. That's why I'm assigning another officer to be his second in the investigation and to sign off on the final report. Someone that the Defense Minister and his supporters cannot so easily overlook."  
  
"Who?", Robert asked.  
  
Before Maran could answer, a tone came from his desk. He pressed a key on his hardlight keyboard. "Commander?"  
  
" _The Commander has arrived as instructed,_ " said Kanelis.  
  
"Excellent timing. I'm waiting with Captain Dale now."  
  
Moments later, the door opened. Robert and the others turned to face the new arrival. Clad in the black-with-burgundy-red trim of a command officer, and with the expected three gold strips on the collar to denote Commander rank, the new arrival cut a prim and proper figure with her brown hair pulled back into a severe bun at the back of her head. She immediately stood at attention and giving a disciplined, "Reporting as ordered, Admiral," in a crisp English accent.  
  
"Excellent. You're just in time to meet the rest of the team."  
  
Robert looked back at Maran with surprise. "This is who we're working with?"  
  
Maran nodded.  
  
"Captain Dale." Commander Elizabeth King nodded her head respectfully. "Commander Meridina, Commander Jarod, Lieutenant Lucero. It's an honor to see you again."  
  
  
  
  
Julia took a working lunch into the Lookout, where she spent more time with the "working" part than the "lunch" part. The normal views one could find from the windows were replaced by the drab gray interior of the drydock. Outside dock workers would already be zipping around in zero G to inspect the damage on the _Aurora_ 's hull. It would likely be a day or two of inspections before the dockmaster certified a comprehensive repair plan for her to sign off on, after which work would commence.  
  
"Your stew is getting cold," a voice admonished.  
  
Julia looked up from her digital reader. Hargert was standing beside her, a cup of coffee already in his hand and moving to replace her empty cup. "Oh, Hargert," she said.  
  
"I wanted to give you my thanks for rescuing Mister Jarod," Hargert said. "I feared the worst."  
  
"You're welcome," she replied.  
  
She went back to her work, just to realize the elderly German man hadn't moved. "You are not well, Commander."  
  
"My cut is healed," she replied. "I'm fine."  
  
"I am not speaking of wounds to the body. I fear for the other wound."  
  
"I'm not hurt, and I'm not mentally troubled if that's what you're implying," Julia insisted. "I wasn't here, but I had a reasonable excuse for it and it can't be held against me. I'm not responsible for what happened to the ship."  
  
"Indeed not."  
  
"I couldn't have done anything to stop it," Julia continued. "If I'd been here, nothing would have changed. We'd still have gotten our asses kicked and I'd still be here going over battle reports and reading about all the people we lost."  
  
Hargert nodded in agreement.  
  
Julia felt a sensation in her hand. She looked toward it and saw she was clenching the cup so tightly her hand was shifting color from the intensity. She forced herself to relax.  
  
"When you are ready, Commander, please talk. With me, with your friends, with someone." Hargert gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "But we are here for you."  
  
With that said, he walked away, leaving Julia to the feelings roiling inside of her.  
  
  
  
  
Admiral Maran took the time to escort Robert and the others, including Commander King, to the twenty-fifth level of Tower 3, the tower that pointed toward the southeast. There they found a vacant planning room with secured control stations and datapads waiting. "Inform Commander Kanelis if you have any needs and yeomen will be sent to meet them," he said upon their entry. "I've arranged for the appropriate logs to be provided to you. The Intelligence Office is overseeing the interviews of possible suspects. Transcripts and recordings will also be provided."  
  
"We'll get on this right away, sir," Robert pledged.  
  
"I'll be back in two hours," Maran said. "Then you and Commander King are due at a Defense Committee session."  
  
Something about that did not make Robert feel more comfortable. "That quickly?"  
  
Maran nodded. "A delegation from the Senate will be attending as well. They voted this morning on the matter."  
  
"I thought that the Defense Committee's Senators simply reported findings to the Senate?"  
  
"Normally. But in this situation, the Senate decided to take more active steps. Members of the Senate Committees on External Affairs and Security are going to join. Not as voters, but as observers, and Defense Minister Hawthorne will give them limited questioning privileges." Maran was evidently not happy with the decision. He hid it as well as always, butt Robert could feel his aggravation with it. "I know you won't have anything to directly show them within two hours. Your presence is merely to establish that the task force has been set up."  
  
"I understand," Robert answered. "I'll see you soon, sir."  
  
He nodded and walked out.  
  
"Translation: The Senate wants to do its own investigations," Jarod said. "And that only complicates things more."  
  
"Indeed." King found a seat. "Especially when you consider that the compromised plans were shared with both Senate Committees."  
  
The others looked toward her. Lucy crossed her arms. "Well, I guess you'd know something about spying, wouldn't you Commander?'  
  
"Indeed, Lieutenant, I served as an intelligence analyst for a time before committing to the command track." King's reaction was nonplussed, as if she didn't care about the remark one way or the other. She had spent over a month the prior year spying on the _Aurora_ crew on behalf of Admiral Davies.  
  
Meridina sensed the subtle and unsubtle animosity toward King. The others were still clearly bitter about King's true purpose when she was assigned with the _Sladen_ to the _Aurora_. "How is your ship, Commander?", Meridina asked.  
  
King looked to her. Meridina could sense the sadness that came from within. "We survived the raid. Barely. Half of my crew is dead. I wouldn't be here right now if we hadn't blown our drives with a warp jump. The _Sladen_ will be spending a month in drydock."  
  
Hearing that, Robert looked to her and nodded. "You have my condolences, Commander."  
  
"And you have mine, Captain, for the losses you sustained. Thankfully you and I are here to find out what caused them. Not all of our colleagues were so fortunate."  
  
Robert could sense Lucy's severe discontent. Jarod wasn't happy either. But when he met Robert's eye, Robert could sense his feelings of acceptance on the matter. They were working with King and had a job to do, and that was that.  
  
"We should get started," Robert said. "In case hard questions are asked."  
  
"As I suspect they will be." King started to frown. "Some of this is irregular, most irregular. The Senate's rapid action implies…" She stopped.  
  
Robert considered her thought and finished it. "It implies they were ready for this in some way. They had delegations from those committees picked and ready."  
  
"It's possible that those committees have already been gunning for the Defense Committee and were ready for the opportunity," Jarod pointed out, already reading a digital pad.  
  
"That is the most likely explanation. Even in wartime, legislative politics can be nasty." King picked up another digital pad and looked it over. "The chambers of the Council fighting one another, and the committees of both fighting all sides, all for the control they feel they need to push their take on the war."  
  
That didn't surprise Robert. Even in the days of the Facility, there had been occasional fights for influence between the governing council on Liberty and the Facility Council, over things such as authority over the transport ships or the mining colonies and stations. The larger the organization, the more possible centers of power that could come into conflict with each other.  
  
But there was still something about it he didn't like. Something they were missing, hidden and ready to cause harm if it wasn't found.  
  
And there was King's presence. And that meant everything they did, everything they said, would get reported to a man who wanted to take everything from them. Mistrust was already built into this team. Lucy's constant bewilderment and anger directed toward King was proof of that.  
  
But if they had a spy working for the Nazis, or just looking to harm the Alliance, they had to find that spy. The war couldn't be won if a source from the top kept telling the Nazis what they had planned. Finding whether there was a spy or not and neutralizing that spy had to come before anything.  
  
"Commander King."  
  
She looked over at him. "Yes?"  
  
"Whatever happened last year, whatever your thoughts about the Gersallians, we can't let that get in the way of this job. The Nazis are the enemy and we have to focus on that."  
  
King nodded. "I concur, Captain."  
  
Robert looked to the others. "That goes to all of us," he said. "We can't let any animosity toward Commander King or Admiral Davies get in the way. This is a threat to the Alliance and the war effort."  
  
"Agreed," said Meridina.  
  
Jarod nodded as well.  
  
That left Lucy. She was looking at a pad partially, but her eyes came up and met them. Finally she nodded. "Agreed."  
  
"Then let's get started on this." Robert took a seat and picked up a blank pad. "Give me what you find and Commander King and I will put it together to inform the committee."  
  
  
  
  
Two hours later Robert and King walked together, and otherwise unescorted, into the Defense Committee chambers. The Committee met near the middle of the building, in a chamber of red and amber-colored wood-paneled surfaces. The Committee Members themselves sat in a semi-circle facing the middle table, where those giving evidence or testimony would sit, while behind this table were seats for observers or future participants. The room had not changed any since Robert had last been here, when he faced losing the _Aurora_. This time, however, he sat toward the rear of the room, and was grateful he wasn't the focus of this session.  
  
Not yet, anyway.  
  
As before, ahead of him was the seat where the Defense Minister sat. Gerald Hawthorne was a thin man with a hawkish nose and a conspiratorial look about him. How he had enough of a grip on his post that President Morgan couldn't dare fire him was something Robert wasn't sure.  
  
Seated nearby were Admiral Maran and Admiral Davies, in their positions as Chairman of the Defense Staff and Vice Chief of Naval Operations. General Gulinev, representing the Army, was also present. The crusty old Russian had lost hair since Robert last saw him. The stresses of war planning were clear on his weathered expression.  
  
A glare came his way. Councilman Pensley was not as thin as Hawthorne, and his hair still showed some dark brown color. He sat to one side of the semi-circle. Councilman Palas was nearby, wearing standard Gersallian-style robes, and the third Councilman was an African woman in a suit.  
  
Opposite them were the three Senators of the committee. Sriroj of the Sol Systems Republic was one he recognized immediately. The Dorei Senator was new, a man with a pale purple complexion and blue eyes that wore his long light teal hair in an elaborate series of ringlets and braids. _I will never taunt Angel about her hair again_ , Robert thought upon seeing that. The third Senator was an Alakin, with green and yellow plumage around the neck of what Robert was sure was a female Alakin. She was in a suit of pale yellow and green trim that struck Robert as more masculine looking, at least for what he thought of such things.  
  
The final member of the Committee was the Intelligence Director, now General Hatcher.  
  
Now Robert could see the further additions, though. Tables along the sides had been set up and a number of other figures were seated. Dorei, Alakin, Gersallians, Humans of various ethnic origins. They would be the Senators Maran mentioned, from the Senate External Affairs and Security Committees. Robert scanned them for faces he knew, most of which he only knew through those news reports he actually managed to watch.  
  
Hawthorne, in his place, rapped his gavel. "I call this meeting of the Defense Committee to order. These are tough times for us all, so I thank you for your prompt response to the summons. And my greetings to the esteemed Senators joining us today from the External Affairs and Security Committees. This situation is one we must all get involved with solving." Hawthorne looked over everyone. "As you all know by now, our attempted rear area attack on the Reich became a fiasco. All indications is that the Reich lured us into an ambush. The Intelligence Office believes that they were made aware of our standing plans for a quick raid by a spy, or some other security leak. Regardless of whether this is true or not, we must investigate the situation thoroughly, and ensure that our war effort does not become derailed by poor leadership. Councilman Pensley?"  
  
Pensley had glared toward Robert again, stood to show he wanted to speak. When Hawthorne's permission came and he spoke, briefly turning to address Hawthorne, it was with a voice not quite strong enough for the ferocity behind the words. "I would argue that the real question is if we should have a war effort at all, Minister. The German Reich was clearly provoked by a certain radical clique within the Alliance government and military." He looked back toward Robert. "A clique, I am sad to say, that has won the ear of the President, and which even today shows its strength by its presence before the Committee."  
  
Robert said nothing. He knew he had no standing to speak as it was, not being officially called as a witness yet.  
  
It was Senator Sriroj who responded to Pensley. "The good Councilman's known hostility toward some of the leading lights of our Alliance are well known to all of us," the Thai woman said, some acid in her accented tone. "The fact that he persists in this ridiculous course of appeasement of one of the most vile regimes in the history of Human civilizations is ludicrous in itself."  
  
"The Senator ignores the fact that the Reich was clearly provoked by an incursion of their territory and the destruction of its ships by Alliance vessels," Pensley shot back. "And while I will not ignore the crimes of the Reich, the deaths caused during their invasion of our colonies in S4W8 can be laid at the feet of the radicals responsible for provoking a war we were not ready to fight."  
  
"And so you would have us make _peace_ with the fascist butchers?!", Gulinev demanded. "The same fascist butchers who have slaughtered _hundreds of thousands_ of Alliance citizens?![/i]"  
  
"They no longer pose a threat to us," Pensley replied. "Their fleets have been driven back. We have liberated many worlds from them and the Darglan Facility of their universe has been destroyed. We've already broken the foundation of their empire. All we have to do is make peace and let their warped little system crash down around their ears. We don't need to lose more to finish off an enemy that time will beat. The only reason we're doing it now is because of small-mindedness being led about by crazed political radicalism."  
  
"You make presumptions about the sustainability of the Reich that are unproven," Palas stated, rising to his feet. "And I do not believe this is rel…"  
  
"And this, right here, is what I speak of!", Pensley thundered. "The Gersallians and their need to judge everyone else and throw their weight around! Clearly I'm not the only one who's seen it! They've amassed undue control over…"  
  
"Councilmen, you are out of order!", Hawthorne cried, slamming his gavel. "Both of you are to be seated at once!"  
  
Palas nodded in deference and did so.  
  
Pensley did not at first. He glared at Hawthorne, who glared back, until finally the man sat with an audible thump.  
  
"The purpose of this meeting is not to discuss peace feelers. It is to examine the issue we are faced with on a possible security breach," Hawthorne declared. His eyes scanned the room until they locked onto Robert. "Captain Dale, Commander King, I am informed that Admiral Maran has placed you in charge of the investigation. Please share with the Committee what you have learned so far."  
  
Robert and King stood and took the central table. King nodded to Robert, signaling he would be the one speaking for them, so he brought up his digital reader. "Honored Members of the Committee, Honored Senators, we have looked over the preliminary information from the Intelligence Office." Robert drew in a breath. "It appears that at some point around five weeks ago, several anomalous access requests were logged into the Main Defense Planning Database. The database in question, for those who aren't aware, is where the secured operational plans drawn up by Defense Command planners are kept for review and alteration. Among the plans was the list of potential targets for the recent operation, or rather the list for the types of targets the raid in question was meant to eliminate."  
  
"You say anomalous access requests, Captain." Councilman Zoral, of the Sirian League, leaned forward. His sandy brown hair was combed back and the middle-aged man kept a business expression on his face. "Can you explain what precisely you mean?"  
  
"The system is designed to log all access requests by access point and personal code. Nobody is supposed to be able to look at this data anonymously," Robert explained. "These access requests had no such information. No access point was logged. No personal code. In short, we can't tell who accessed the data, or even if they managed to. All we know for sure is that someone tried without their location or identity being logged."  
  
"Wouldn't a failure to put in a proper access code lead to an alarm?", the Alakin Senator asked.  
  
"It logs the failure and alerts Defense Command security to the access attempt, yes. But we have no matching failures logged. In fact, throughout the year we only have five failures logged at all, and those have all been identified as user error by personnel with access authority." Robert looked over the notes that Jarod had compiled for him again. "The best explanation is that someone found a way to tap into the database without using a known access point. Someone physically tapped the computer cores themselves."  
  
"That sounds dubious," Davies said. "Those cores are kept under the highest security regime. There are multiple access restrictions that have to be bypassed just to get to them."  
  
"I understand that sir," Robert said. "But that is our best explanation for the moment. We'll investigate the possibility immediately."  
  
Maran leaned forward. "Then the question is, if someone did get our planning data, how did they deliver it to the Reich? We have no standing channels with them, and no state we know of has regular diplomatic communications that could be used for that form of covert communication."  
  
"They may be using long-range subspace radio keyed to specific high frequencies," Robert replied. "Or they're using another form of communication we haven't consdiered yet. We're going to look into this as well."  
  
"Commander King, do you concur with Captain Dale's testimony to this Committee?", Hawthorne asked.  
  
"I do, sir," King said. "Captain Dale and I have examined the evidence and come to these conclusions jointly."  
  
"Then I leave this investigation in your hands…"  
  
Pensley jumped to his feet. "I lodge an official protest! Captain Dale is not qualified for this sort of investigation."  
  
"He commands officers who _are_."  
  
"Nor can he be trusted with the conclusions, not when he is responsible for this war in the first place!", Pensley insisted. "This will become a mere cover for him to further promote the radical agenda that has already brought us war!"  
  
"Councilman, you are out of order," Hawthorne ruled, slamming his gavel. The defense minister turned his glared toward Robert. "Captain, the Committee concurs with Admiral Maran's decision to place you and Commander King in joint investigation of this affair. We expect immediate results. You are dismissed."  
  
"Yes sir." Robert stood. King stood beside him and nodded as well. The two walked briskly to the exit door.  
  
Once the Sergeant-at-Arms let them out into the receiving area, Robert looked to King. "So Pensley is leading the peace movement?"  
  
"He is." King gave Robert a look. "Although that's hardly a secret, Captain."  
  
"I spend so much time doing other things that I can't keep up with all of the politics around the Council, honestly."  
  
"I see." King consulted her multidevice. "It is past 1500 local time now. I could use a lunch, can't you?"  
  
"I didn't get to enjoy the officer's club the last time I was here," Robert said. "I hear they make a mean steak."  
  
King smiled at that. "Captain, you have _no idea_."  
  
  
  
  
The job of overseeing the repairs on the _Aurora_ was divided in responsibility. As Chief Engineer, Scotty was responsible for the immediate portion of it. He was the one that would be working with the dockmaster on a repair schedule and providing the list on what was necessary.  
  
But the administrative side of it was all on Julia. She had to liaise with the dockmaster, with the quartermaster for both the ship and the Fleet Base, and she had to sign off on the necessary crew scheduling changes that came with shipping out crewmembers to other medical facilities.  
  
Looking over the latter was the hardest. The casualties the _Aurora_ had taken were severe. Knowing she hadn't been here to fight by their side… that made it worse.  
  
The door chime for her office sounded. "Come in," she called out.  
  
Angel was the one who walked in. "Well, hello workaholic," she said. "You do know that we're in drydock, right?"  
  
"I do. I have the paperwork to prove it."  
  
"Isn't that mostly _Scotty_ 's paperwork?"  
  
"I told him I'd process it for him," Julia said. "That way he can focus on getting our ship fixed."  
  
"I don't think you saved him much time." Angel crossed her arms and leaned against the door. "So, I was thinking we could do something. When you're done and off-duty."  
  
"I had a pretty tight martial arts fight yesterday, Angel, I don't need to worry about honing my skills right now."  
  
"I'm not thinking of a bout this time. In your mood that would be begging for bruises." Angel smirked. "I was thinking you, me, maybe Cat and her new girlfriend, going down to Portland and doing something, I dunno, girly. Shopping or something."  
  
Julia leveled an intrigued stare at Angel. "Angel, you have _never_ been a girly type girl. Never. That includes shopping."  
  
"Well, maybe it's something to try?"  
  
"You mean it's…" Julia stopped and blinked. "Wait. Cat and _who_?"  
  
"That purple-haired helmswoman, Ensign Arterria."  
  
"And she and Cat are… together?"  
  
Angel shrugged. "I dunno. They're playing some game on the holodecks. Well, they were, I'm not sure what they're doing now. But I know Cat's interested in her and would love to go visit the city with her."  
  
"Well, I'm sure you'll all have fun," Julia said. "But I've got reports to file and repairs to check on and…"  
  
"Yes, because that's going to make up for us not being here for the attack," Angel remarked.  
  
Julia stopped. She looked up and glared at Angel.  
  
"I'm not dumb. I wish I'd been here too," Angel said. "But we didn't know this would happen, did we? And Jarod needed us."  
  
"So did the others," Julia said, her voice harsh. "Our ship went into a dangerous, important operation _without_ three of its senior officers, _including_ its _Executive Officer_. That is, _me_."  
  
"We couldn't have known that would happen!"  
  
"We shouldn't have had to think about it! We should have stayed in communication and…"  
  
Angel stepped forward from the door and slammed a palm on the desk. "And where would Jarod be if we'd done that, huh?!"  
  
The retort brought silence to the room. "I know," Julia murmured. "But it doesn't change the fact that we weren't here when they needed us."  
  
"I know. But we can't do anything about that right now." A grunt of frustration came from Angel. She turned to the door. "I get it, though. No to the trip. Alright."  
  
"Maybe later," Julia said. "Once we've got the repairs going."  
  
"Yeah, maybe," Angel said, frowning. She went through the opened door and out into the hall beyond.  
  
  
  
  
In Tower 3, Jarod and Lucy were looking over the designs of the secured computer core for the Defense Planning Database. Meridina observed quietly. By her estimation, unless a _swevyra'se_ or a disciplined _swevyra'kse_ was responsible, the task of surreptitiously adding a device to tap the core's data seemed impossible. The security measures were simply too complex.  
  
Meridina quietly checked the time on her multidevice. Seeing what time it was, she stepped away from the table and tapped her device. It only took a couple moments to open a channel to the _Aurora_ , where the results of her search awaited her.  
  
The search for the hilt was incomplete. Some of the symbols were simply unidentifiable. The others, however, seemed to be from a pre-Swenya dialect. And not just any, but the dialect of the Kuneli and their neighbors. The dialect and language were considered dead and forgotten by Gersallian authorities, swept away by the Rising of Kohbal after Swenya's death.  
  
As for Dralan Olati… that was the most surprising. The profile was from the Olati clan-family public database. Dralan was the second son of the _Mastesh_ of the Olati's third daughter. That meant he was not of a particularly high ranking within the family. And the image was fairly accurate to what she remembered.  
  
But the complication was that the system claimed he was _dead_.  
  
Meridina murmured, 'how?" and continued her search. She looked back in time to see Jarod and Lucy staring at her somewhat. "Sorry," she said. "Simply an investigation I have started relating to Jarod's abduction."  
  
"You mean that Gersallian with the yellow eyes?", Jarod asked.  
  
"Yes," Meridina replied. "I killed him during our fight. I am investigating where he came from. I have… questions, you might say."  
  
"Yeah." Jarod rubbed at his throat. "I bet."  
  
"It must be hard," Lucy remarked. "I mean, he had a _lakesh_ too, right?"  
  
"He did."  
  
"And only the Order knows how to make them. So he was one of yours."  
  
Meridina looked back to the image. "That is what I thought as well," she said. "But the records don't show that. By the records he was never involved with the Order."  
  
"Huh." Lucy's brow furrowed. "That's kind of disturbing, isn't it?"  
  
"Tremendously," Meridina said. Because if Dralan hadn't been in the Order, that meant terrible questions had to be considered.  
  
Where did he get his training? And where or how did he get his _lakesh_?  
  
"A mystery for later," she said, turning. "We should focus on the security of the Alliance first. Have you found anything?"  
  
"Nothing yet, we're still looking everything over," Lucy said.  
  
"Hrm." Meridina approached them again. "Well, allow me to continue with you, then. Perhaps there is something to find."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Political tensions threaten to tear the Alliance apart.

The officer's club was essentially a bar with a large eating area. Alcoholic drinks from across the Multiverse were present, although Robert asked for a soda. King, however, called for a brandy. "I wouldn't see you for the kind to drink while we're on duty," Robert said to King as she took a drink of the amber liquid.  
  
"There are such things as detoxicants, Captain," King reminded him. "But I've found there is truth to an argument of Winston Churchill, that one drink is good for bolstering the senses."  
  
"Wasn't that 'courage'?"  
  
"Perhaps." King smiled thinly. "You are rather closer to Sir Winston chronologically than I am. Or rather to the versions of him from our respective histories." King took another sip and took on an introspective look. "I've always wondered what it'd be like to meet the man. If we could find a world where he still lived."  
  
"If we did, it'd be illegal unfortunately," Robert said. "The Alliance Contact Limitations would keep us from contacting anyone on that world, short of an accident."  
  
"I know." King took another drink, and Robert did the same. As he pondered his soda, she went on. "Of course, one could question the morality of that statute. Imagine the good we could do if we were to encounter an Earth in the 1930s, or 1940s. With our technology, the fascist powers would be crushed in days of paltry effort. All of those millions of lives saved."  
  
Robert set his hands on the table. "I find it interesting to hear you say that, Commander. I used to be in that business before the Alliance. And I've learned it's not always so cut and dried."  
  
"No, I suppose not. But then again, you didn't have the benefit of the training and organization you do now."  
  
"Does Admiral Davies share these thoughts?", Robert inquired, feeling curious.  
  
"I rather doubt it. I'm not even sure I do." King shook her head. "I believe in the chain of command and in the order of law, not your cowboy Yank heroics."  
  
That elicited a chuckle from Robert. "Cowboy? That's a new one. I usually get called a White Knight first."  
  
"Perhaps. But the point remains." King took another drink and swallowed it. "But then I think of the Nazis, those bloody bastards, and I think of worlds where their ilk still thrive, and I begin to wonder if it isn't worth it to ride in and crush them before they hurt anyone else." King looked into her glass, deep in thought. "If my ship were on patrol near such an Earth, and I picked up the radio signals from a place like Auschwitz, or the calls for help during the Warsaw Uprising or the Rape of Nanking…"  
  
"I understand," Robert said. "I mean, I understand where you're coming from."  
  
"I imagine you do." King set the glass down. "Of course, that's where the Honourable Councilman from the Tetzelian Republic would give you the dirty look like before."  
  
"Pensley." Robert nodded. "I'm not too familiar with L4R2, actually. Ba handled our negotiations with the Tetzelians and other governments."  
  
"I don't think they ever liked you, honestly. They blame your kind of politics for the destruction of Earth's biosphere in their history."  
  
"So that's three universes with a trashed Earth," Robert said.  
  
"That is true." King sighed. "Most people know bloody well what peace with Nazis means. That it's just a breather before the next round. The Tetzelians, though, they don't see that. To them history started with the evacuation of Earth, so they don't worry about Nazis the same way we would." King shook her head. "They joined the Alliance for economic benefits."  
  
"And now we're in a war."  
  
"Yes. A war that you have been blamed for. I would suggest that you avoid any vacations to Tetzel any time soon, Captain."  
  
Robert nodded and grinned. "Is that the famous British understatement I've heard so much about?"  
  
"Well, we must all keep up appearances."  
  
A moment later a civilian waiter came in, bearing plates that had made-to-order ribeye steaks fresh from the kitchen grills. Potatoes and carrots were on King's plate. Robert had rice and green beans with his steak.  
  
"Now we eat," King said. "And then we find out how much your super-savant and your mind-readers have discovered since we left them."  
  
  
  
  
Before they left, Robert - feeling guilty - secured three plates to go for Jarod, Lucy, and Meridina. King waited patiently for him to get the boxed meals before walking back to Tower 3.  
  
When they arrived, the three were all looking over materials. "I've brought dinner," Robert said. "Straight from the officer's club."  
  
"You're a lifesaver," Jarod sighed. He took the offered box. Inside was a steak, sides, and utensils all prepared. "It's been a couple days since I had a proper meal."  
  
"A couple of very tiring days, I imagine," Robert answered, offering Lucy her meal. He came to Meridina last. "It's a Gersallian meal. I was assured it was Maran's favorite."  
  
Meridina nodded and opened the container. A slight smile came to her face. "Spiced _rutapi_ with _ganaral_ sauce. This is quite a handsome meal." She looked to Robert, still smiling. "Thank you for this, Captain."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
King took a seat. "Do we have anything new?"  
  
"The only method we can think of for gaining physical access is if someone has abilities," Jarod said. "As in the ones that the Gersallians call _swevyra_."  
  
"Ah." King looked thoughtful at that. "I see. Do you concur, Commander?"  
  
"Yes. It was my suggestion." Meridina gestured to the layout of the core and its protected approach. "A _swevyra'se_ or _swevyra'kse_ could have implanted suggestions within the guards on duty. They would have the guards open all of the access doors. Once in the core room, access could have been tapped by any number of devices attached to the main control console."  
  
"The console would be secured against that," King said.  
  
"If they're smart, they had something along to put it into a test mode," Jarod said. "Like any technician would."  
  
"How often do the cores get tested?", Robert asked.  
  
Lucy checked the schedule. "Once every ten weeks. More often if it's been called for due to technical problems."  
  
"Check the logs, see when the last test came," Robert said.  
  
"I'm doing that now," Lucy replied. She examined a log. "Looks like the last test was around April 4th."  
  
"That's definitely within our targeted time period. Now we need to know if the technician was behind it or if someone slipped in around that time to trick the guards."  
  
"Let me check the logs," Jarod said. He began operating one of the workstations. "Isolating…"  
  
A holographic 2D image appeared on the wall facing them. It depicted a woman in an Alliance Army duty BDU walking up to them. For a moment there was nothing between them. And then she started to wave a hand.  
  
At that point, the video abruptly cut out.  
  
"Jarod?", Robert asked.  
  
"Someone deleted the visual data from the file," he said.  
  
"At least here," King said. "Those files are backed up offsite automatically by way of a one-way data transmission. The saboteur may not have known this."  
  
Jarod nodded. "I'm checking the backed up record now." He looked back to the screen.  
  
It was the same image again, and played on from there. The woman waved her hand. The soldier led her through.  
  
"He didn't check her ID," Lucy said.  
  
"And they're not supposed to escort anyone," King added. "The doors between the checkpoints are meant to be unlocked by the technician."  
  
They watched as the woman went through the following layers of security with the guard at her side. At the middle checkpoint, another hand wave seemed to placate the guards there. The same at the last checkpoint, after which the young woman entered the core room.  
  
The core was a hexagon, at least sixty feet wide, which meant the image only showed a part of it around the central control console and the door to leave. While the guard remained, the woman went to work on the system. For some time she worked under the core's central control console, including removing the panels below it and working on the wires within.  
  
"Computer, freeze frame," King barked. When the video stopped, she said, "Zoom in on the subject's right hand. Lower right quadrant, upper left."  
  
The computer analyzed King's order and obeyed. The video zoomed in. Without an order it began to enhance the image. The technician was pulling an object out of her bag. It was small, with a clear section meant for splicing wiring together.  
  
"I've never seen anything like it," Jarod said.  
  
"I have."  
  
All of the eyes in the room turned toward Meridina.  
  
A sad look filled her blue eyes. She was struck with disbelief. "It is a device manufactured by the Interdependency Defense Forces," she said. "It is intended for making entry into secured computer systems."  
  
"So you're saying that Gersallian military intelligence did this?", King asked.  
  
"Unlikely," Meridina said. She shook her head and was clearly struggling with what she had just seen. "However, the Defense Forces work closely with the Order, and provide us with access to such devices for our own work."  
  
"Meridina, think about what you're saying," Lucy said.  
  
"I know precisely what I am saying," Meridina answered. Both Robert and Lucy could feel the growing emotional turmoil within her, the sheer disbelief that this had actually happened. "But there has been trouble on Gersal for months now. Anti-Alliance sentiment has created a faction called the Dissenters who oppose our participation in the Alliance. So it is possible that even one of my fellows has gotten mixed up in this."  
  
Commander King observed Meridina make this admission. She nodded stiffly. "Well, that leaves our duty clear. We should report this to the Committee."  
  
Robert sighed and nodded. "Agreed." He had no choice, and he knew that, but he also knew he was handing a loaded gun to Hawthorne and Davies. Whatever was going on here, there was no telling how far it would take their anti-Gersallian, or at least anti-Order of Swenya, agenda. "We'll send a message to the Committee and then go check to see if this device is still active."  
  
"I shall call for the technical staff," King said, bringing her left arm up to look at her multidevice. "We'll need their support."  
  
"Secure the work stations and our materials," Robert said. "Let's get to the core."  
  
  
  
  
The Main Defense Planning Database was in Tower 4, facing to the southwest, located on the highest levels of the complex (lower levels held less-critical computer cores). The five officers had called up a transport car to speed them across the walkway spanning Towers 3 and 4. The blue-skinned Dorei Private driving the craft still looked intimidated as all hell by the five officers after they left him on the other end of the walking bridge. From there it was another ten floors up to the entrance to the Planning Database.  
  
By the time they arrived, Defense Command Security had already answered King's summons. An Army Captain, an African woman with a slight build and reserved demeanor, was waiting for them at the first checkpoint. "Commander King. Captain Dale." Her voice sounded East African to Robert. He almost wanted to say one of the Somali accents, but he'd heard many during the Facility days and wasn't sure of them all. "I am Captain Joan Orombi, of the Security Detachment. I already have technicians inside investigating this device."  
  
"So it is still there?", Meridina asked.  
  
Orombi nodded. "Yes, Commander, it is."  
  
"These devices have an identification code that is placed within the hardware, it cannot be removed without disabling the device," Meridina said. "If I get the number, I should be able to verify where the device came from."  
  
"You already know its origins?", Orombi asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"We watched the video of the device being planted," Robert explained. "Meridina was able to identify it."  
  
"Ah." Orombi could tell that there was more to it, but she went back to business. "Follow me."  
  
They went to the first checkpoint, where they were waved in. "We still need to figure out how they erased the on-site security footage," Lucy said.  
  
"We will investigate thoroughly, Lieutenant."  
  
Robert nodded. "It should help us narrow down…"  
  
He stopped as every fiber of his being sensed the impending threat. There were only seconds to react.  
  
"Get down!", Meridina shouted. She jumped and pulled Orombi to the wall and down. Lucy got Jarod and pulled him to the other end and Robert did the same with Commander King, who shouted "What the devil!?..." in shock as he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her.  
  
The entire tower seemed to quake beneath their feet. A thunderous roar sounded beyond them and a plume of flame erupted from the next set of checkpoint doors. Along the walls they were safe from immediate burning, but the blast wave caught them with enough strength to knock them all over.  
  
For several seconds Robert thought he was going to black out. His head was spinning wildly and his body ached. He could faintly hear something over the roar that had overwhelmed his ears and left them ringing. Only as his vision cleared could he see Meridina looking at him, calling his name. _Robert!_ , she shouted in his mind.  
  
 _I'm alive_. He checked on King. The blast had knocked her out cold for the moment, but he could feel the life within her, and there was no sense that she was wounded. _So is King._  
  
 _Jarod and I are fine_ , Lucy added mentally.  
  
 _Orombi is as well_.  
  
With that confirmed, they all looked toward the direction of the core. Fire suppression systems were kicking in and the distant drizzling sound of flame-retardant foam being sprayed over the core's access area was audible.  
  
Robert swallowed. "This has gone beyond spying," he said. "Someone with links to the Gersallian government just set off a bomb in Defense Command."  
  
"Yes." King was frowning. "Clearly to prevent us from gaining access to their data hacking device." King gave him a somber look before looking to Meridina. "I'm sorry Commander. But the way things are going, we may very well be looking at the end of your species' membership in the Alliance."  
  
Meridina reacted to that news mutely, and only Robert and Lucy could feel the raw frustration surging within her. Everything she'd fought and sacrificed for was at risking of falling apart before her very eyes.  
  
  
  
  
Across the Columbia and along the west bank of the Willamette, the city of Portland shined like a jewel in the lengthening sunset. Holographic signs advertised and announced everything from products to news; in the streets and in pre-programmed aerial lanes vehicles moved, carrying people from work to home or from home to work or any other location.  
  
In the old Northwest Quarter, one dwelling in particular had quite a number of residents. On all relevant records, the home had been rented by the Gersallian Interdependency's Interspecies Cultural Exchange Directorate. The neighbors had little to say of the occupants; they were friendly to neighbors, but seemed distant, which would have been strange indeed if the neighbors knew which organization that rented the house.  
  
Inside there were a dozen Gersallians. A few had military backgrounds. All had been training for some time for what was to come, and all were dedicated to the cause of the Interdependency… or rather, the Interdependency as they saw it. A Gersallian Interdependency that was free and independent of the quarrelling, unbalanced Human societies it had mistakenly bound itself to.  
  
Most of those in the home were in the basement. Sound-proofing and passive jamming fields ensured privacy for the training they underwent there. At some expense, a holographic chamber had been placed into the basement, so large that it nearly took up the entire floor. Reassembling it had been the work of a week for the occupants.  
  
On the inside, they had completed another practice run using the information given. This one had ended like many of those in the recent couple of weeks; victory, with the armed men and women standing among the carnage and destruction of what had been a holographic recreation of the Alliance Senate chamber. The holographic visages of dead Senators and officials abounded everywhere.  
  
One of the leaders pulled off his combat helmet. "The attack was a success. End simulation."  
  
"Kalnat." Another of his men pulled off a helmet. "Should we not practice extraction?"  
  
"Extraction will come in one of two ways, my friends." Kalnat looked at them in one sweep of his head. "We will either be capable of activating the transporters, or we will not. That is the truth of the matter. By the time we finish this work, there will be no escape if the transporters fail."  
  
The second man nodded. So too did the others.  
  
"We will make one more…"  
  
Before Kalnat could finish, a door appeared in the nearby wall. A woman in a blue robe over light purple vest and dark blue leggings stepped in. She was shaved bald, and her blue eyes looked to Kalnat intensely. "Our time has come," she said.  
  
Kalnat looked to her. "What has happened?"  
  
"The device was found. Our source in the Senate says we can delay no longer." The bald woman looked over them all. "We must now show our devotion to our people. A Senate meeting will be called for tomorrow morning to discuss what has happened. That is when we will strike."  
  
"If the device was found, then security will be…"  
  
"Our source will deal with security," the woman said. "We will do the rest."  
  
"Yes, we will. May Swenya and our ancestors forgive us for what we must do," Kalnat answered.  
  
"Indeed." She turned and left.  
  
The woman walked up to the ground floor, then to her small, spartanly-furnished second floor. Her computer systems turned on and she immediately accessed the communications links that had been so carefully established in the prior months.  
  
Within minutes a face appeared on the screen, with a moderately-sized beard and a bald head like her own. " _You caught me in a meeting_ ," said _Mastrash_ Goras, of the Order of Swenya. " _What is it, Italarai?_ "  
  
"Our listening device was found. The charge went off as planned, but our source says we must hurry. We launch the operation tomorrow."  
  
" _I see_." Goras nodded stiffly. " _Then I can only wish the best to you. You and the Dissenters carry the hopes of our future with you, Italarai. Know that, even if your conscious is troubled by your duty._ "  
  
"I know," Italarai answered. She nodded. " _Mi rake sa sweyvra iso, Mastrash_. I could not have asked for a finer teacher."  
  
" _You have been a devoted and marvelous student, Italarai. I hope to see you again._ Mi rake sa swevyra iso."  
  
  
  
  
The tension in the Defense Committee was undeniable. Robert left it to King to give the report on their findings, including the offsite video backups. His ears were still ringing from the blast. But it wasn't just that which made him feel like he had to sit down.  
  
The bomb had killed Orombi's team. The guards at the midway checkpoint had been critically injured. The damage to the core had been substantial as well and Tower 4 had been abandoned for the time being while experts analyzed the damage and made sure that the structure was sound.  
  
And now he was presenting evidence that this had been done by one of their own. An investigation into whether the Nazis had expectations of the Alliance's raiding plans had led them straight to findings that could rip the Alliance apart.  
  
"And you are certain of this?", asked Minister Hawthorne.  
  
"We are, sir," King replied. "Captain Dale and I have signed off on the findings. While we cannot be sure what data was leaked due to the destruction of the spying device, it is clear that a major security breach could have easily leaked our plans to the Reich. The method by which this communication could have been made is still undetermined."  
  
"And it was agents of the Gersallian Interdependency who committed this act?", Pensley asked.  
  
"I object to that!" The male Dorei Senator - Hipathi - stood to his feet with his pale purple skin turning dark purple around his cheeks. "This is not proof that the Gersallian government has done anything!"  
  
Pensley smirked with immense self-satisfaction. "I hear the voice of the Dorei Senator, but I hear the words of the Gersallians who are his puppet-masters."  
  
Hipathi's face turned an even deeper purple. Before he could bark out a retort, Hawthorne's gavel rapped. "You are both out of order!", Hawthorne shouted. When both sat, still glaring at each other, Hawthorne returned his attention to King and Robert. "The device, you say that the video record shows it as a Gersallian one?"  
  
"It does, sir," King said.  
  
"How did you make this identification, Commander?", asked Councilman Palas. The Gersallian legislature's voice was hoarse. His expression was drawn and pale.  
  
"Commander Meridina provided the identification, Honored Councilman." King turned to face him. "She stated that it is a device made by the Interdependency Defense Forces, and that it has been provided in the past to members of the Order of Swenya for use in the field."  
  
Palas looked at Meridina. She seemed almost in her own world. Robert could feel the anguish and uncertainty she felt, and now horror that her own people might have caused the deaths of Alliance personnel.  
  
Hawthorne and Davies exchanged intrigued looks. Robert kept himself from scowling.  
  
"These are grave accusations," Sriroj said. The Thai woman's eyes went to the Defense Minister. "I would move that an investigation be ordered into the possible Gersallian involvement."  
  
"Assuming this isn't some false flag." Zoral sat up in his chair and triggered his own recorder and microphone with the movement. "There are factions that would attempt such a thing to turn us against each other."  
  
"And yet the investigators' own video proof shows that the saboteur used mental powers, just as the Order of Swenya does," Davies retorted. "All of this evidence is pointing in that direction."  
  
"We both know that the Gersallian Order of Swenya is not the only source of such beings, Admiral," Zoral retorted. "The intruder could have been a Betazed. But you don't see me rushing to accuse the Federation, do you?"  
  
"How would a Federation officer have gotten their hands on such sensitive Gersallian equipment, Councilman?" Pensley shook his head. "I know how much you Sirians love the Gersallians, but this is really too much. In time you'll be as beholden to them as the Dorei are. And before the honored Defense Minister calls us to order, I have my own proposal to add to the Honorable Senator Sriroj's." Pensley looked over the others, and especially at the Senators assembled from the External Affairs Committee. "I move that the Defense Committee formally endorse resuming the peace initiative with the Reich. It's clear we have to clean up our own house before we can even begin to consider a permanent arrangement in S4W8."  
  
"I object!", General Gulinev snarled. "We cannot make peace with fascists!"  
  
"It is not your place to object to a _political_ consideration, General!", Pensley shot back.  
  
" _Order!_ " Hawthorne slammed his gavel. "There will be order in the Committee!" With swiftness the voices and shouts died down.  
  
As the voices died down, the Sergeant-at-Arms approached Hawthorne and whispered into his ear. "Very well," he said. "Bring her in."  
  
Robert and the others looked back to see the doors open to admit a new arrival. The Chinese woman in question was reserved in her attire, a full-sleeved gray suit and loose gray trousers with gold-colored embroidery on the sleeves and cuffs. Her dark hair was pulled back into an austere bun, the temples already graying, and her face was thin.  
  
A very bad feeling came over him at seeing her.  
  
"Senator Kiang," said Minister Hawthorne. "Thank you for joining us."  
  
"Minister." Kiang nodded. "I have come to inform you that the Senate has voted to hold a full session in the morning on this situation."  
  
Sriroj gave her peer a look of irritation. "I was not aware the Senate was voting on the subject."  
  
"Nor were any others here," Kiang said. "But Senate President Akreet agreed to the session and held a virtual meeting of the majority of the Senators. The vote for a session was approved. And the Defense Committee has been requested to observe and participate as is deemed necessary."  
  
"Very well." Sriroj was clearly unhappy.  
  
"Then I take it the Senate is assuming control over the investigation?", Hawthorne asked.  
  
"Oversight, yes. But I believe it acceptable for your team to continue their work," Kiang said. "Although some considerations may be necessary given the evidence. Among the legislation being proposed would be a ban on permitting members of certain 'orders' from serving in the Alliance services."  
  
Robert could sense Lucy's surge of anger at that. He knew she could feel his. Within a second he was on his feet, looking at Kiang. "You're talking about banning Commander Meridina and her peers," he said.  
  
"Captain, you have no place to join this conversation!", Hawthorne barked.  
  
Robert bit down on his lip at that.  
  
"I would be happy to help direct such legislation through the Council," said Pensley, who was almost purring with delight. "I have long waited for the Senate to realize the dangers facing the Alliance from the inside."  
  
"Do not mistake our purpose," Kiang said. "We have many considerations for how to deal with the recent difficulties. The investigation into Gersallian responsibility for the security breach, and for this bombing, is just one element. That is why we wish the Defense Committee's presence."  
  
Robert could feel the satisfaction oozing from Hawthorne and Davies. Maran's face remained a stone mask.  
  
"Then, in light of this, I will adjourn the Committee for the evening. We will reconvene tomorrow morning. Before we adjourn, however…" Hawthorne looked back to Robert. The pleasure was eminent in his face. "It is clear, Captain Dale, that your services with this investigation are no longer necessary. Nor are they desired. You and your officers are hereby relieved from those duties and you are dismissed. Commander King, you may assign a new team as you like."  
  
Maran frowned at Hawthorne. But he did nothing. Given the way things had gone, he could do nothing.  
  
"We are all hereby adjourned." With a last rap of the gavel, the session ended and the Committee began to file out the nearby doors. With a gesture, Davies summoned Commander King. She took one last look at them before joining him through a side door.  
  
"Robert, you can't let them do this," Lucy said. Beside her, Meridina looked and felt miserable. "This is the opening they've been waiting for!"  
  
"There's not anything we can do," Jarod replied on Robert's behalf. "Maran's known for cooperation with the Order of Swenya, so this makes it impossible for him to act."  
  
"So Meridina's going to be kicked out of the Stellar Navy over this?" Lucy shook her head. "That's ridiculous! And that device doesn't prove anything. There are other life force users out there, they could have swiped it!"  
  
"It's not about what is true," Robert mumbled. "It's about what fits everyone's expectations." As he said that he looked to Kiang, who was exiting with other Senators from the two observing delegations. "And you heard Pensley. There are probably more like him. They have it out for the Gersallians. Maybe over last year, or maybe over other things. This gives them a chance to vent about it."  
  
"There has to be something we can do," Lucy insisted. "Because look at them. Hawthorne and Davies are so paranoid about Meridina they don't care about anything else."  
  
Robert considered that. "There's only one thing I can do." He stood up a the room finished clearing. "I'll meet you at the shuttle bay. If nothing comes of this we'll just have to get a flight back to the _Aurora_."  
  
The others nodded in reply as they stood, even Meridina. They left together.  
  
  
  
When they got to the shuttle bay, at the very top of the central building, Jarod went off to find a flight officer and a shuttle that would be available. Lucy and Meridina waited outside of the chamber. "Maybe it's what Zoral said." Lucy put a hand on Meridina's arm while she stared blankly at the window. Night was falling in Portland and the red and orange rays of sunset were coming over the hills to the west, on the opposite side of the Columbia River. It was a lovely sight, but it was also not the focus of Lucy's attention.  
  
Lucy felt the fear and despair inside of her mentor and it made her heart sink. Those emotions would only make things worse for Meridina and her struggles with the darkness that Amaunet's possession had left her with.  
  
"I wish it were true," Meridina said. "But a part of me… it is as if my _swevyra_ itself can feel that it is true. That one of my own was responsible."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Quite." Meridina shook her head. "I… I can't understand it. Why would any of them do something like that? Even my father, even Goras, would not…"  
  
"There might be another explanation. Maybe one of your Knights went rogue and fell to darkness? They could be working for the Nazis, or whoever is spying for them."  
  
"If so, then they have done us a great harm, Lucy. Great harm indeed." Meridina shook her head. Tears had appeared in her eyes. "They are destroying everything that we have aspired to build. The future itself is at threat because of them, the victory of Light, everything I've sacrificed for…"  
  
"The what?", Lucy asked. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Meridina bowed her head. "There are some things I have not told you, Lucy, because it was not the right time. Perhaps, now, it shall never be."  
  
Lucy's curiosity piqued. But she also trusted Meridina enough to let the curiosity pass. "It's up to you on how much you tell me. I would like to know."  
  
"Perhaps… in time. When this is over."  
  
"Now all we can do is hope Robert comes up with something."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
  
  
  
Robert made a beeline toward Admiral Maran's office. But he did not stop there.  
  
A couple of turns down further corridors brought him to his destination. Beside the door was the sign with the name of the office's occupant.  
  
 **Admiral William Davies - Vice CNO**  
  
Robert keyed the door and opened. An older woman, of about forty with a Mediterranean complexion and dark hair, was sitting in the next room at one desk, her rank insignia that of a Captain, while a younger Caucasian woman in her early twenties with a yeoman's rating insignia on her collar was at the desk beside the door. Both looked up. "Sir?", the yeoman asked. "How can I help you?"  
  
"I'm Captain Robert Dale and I need to speak to Admiral Davies," he said.  
  
"He is currently occupied in a meeting," the yeoman replied. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait."  
  
"No, yeoman, he will not," said the Captain. Her accent was Spanish, or maybe Portuguese. "I'm Captain Benedita Soveral, the Admiral's senior aide. And I can tell you that he is not interested in speaking with you."  
  
"I need to talk with him about the investigation," Robert said.  
  
"You have been removed from that investigation, Captain Dale." The way she spoke made it clear she didn't think he deserved the equal rank to her. "Commander King will share anything of interest. Now, the Admiral has had a very long day and isn't up to whatever complaint you wish to subject him to."  
  
"I'll let him decide that."  
  
"It's my job to decide," Captain Soveral declared. "And if you don't leave I will call…"  
  
The door to the inner office opened. Commander King stepped out with Admiral Davies at the door behind her. Both looked at Robert. King nodded to him, gave him a polite, "Captain Dale", and went on out.  
  
Davies and Robert exchanged looks. "I can give you a few minutes, Captain," he said, withdrawing into the office. Robert followed before the door closed.  
  
Davies' office was more furnished than Maran. Old holopics and normal 2D print pictures adorned shelves. A large model of an Earth Confederacy dreadnought was prominent on one wall.  
  
"Well, Captain, I don't have a lot of time with the Senate session coming in the morning." Davies took his chair behind his desk and looked to him. Even as he did, he was typing something onto his systems. Behind Davies and through the secured window Robert could make out the city lights of Portland in the distance, a lovely view if not for the circumstances before him. "What do you want?"  
  
"Admiral, I'd like to continue being part of the investigation."  
  
"That is not possible, Captain," Davies announced. "And given what Commander King's debriefing stated, you know why."  
  
"She told us about what happened last year, yes. The Gersallians threatened to leave the Alliance if the Defense Committee removed us from the _Aurora_."  
  
"And the Senate knows it, as does everyone on the Committee," Davies said. "They know you're not an unbiased observer in this, Captain. You have strong reason, very strong reason, to see the Gersallian involvement in this scandal hushed up."  
  
"But that's not what I want," Robert insisted. "Whoever did the crime has to face punishment, regardless of their species."  
  
"What you want, Captain, is irrelevant. You're off the investigation. As far as I'm concerned, you should be going back to that starship that you can't seem to keep out of the repair yards." Davies put his hands on the table. "If things play out the way they're going, hopefully that won't be happening again either."  
  
Robert ignored the remark, even as he sensed what it entailed. He had another card to play. "You don't think it's suspicious that Senator Kiang is the one who's initiating this Senate meeting? That she's the one who just so happens to be ready to put this entire thing in the open?"  
  
:"Suspicious? No, I'm damn grateful. She was working with the Gersallians last year. It seems it only took thousands of dead Alliance personnel to make her see that mistake."  
  
"And you didn't read the report from DS9?", Robert asked. "We had Dominion sabotage completely shut down the station, and we never found out why. The summit had to be the target."  
  
"Your own report said that Commander Kane secured the Senator."  
  
"After several minutes of blackout, sir," Robert said. "That's more than enough time for a Changeling to act."  
  
Davies met him eye to eye. "I see. So that's what you're going to argue. That Senator Kiang is doing this because it's not her, she's been replaced by a Changeling."  
  
"I think we need to look into it," Robert said. "We still don't know how any defense plans could be sent to the Nazis."  
  
"Commander King will undoubtedly turn up the cause," Davies said. "As for the failed summit, I have indeed read the report, and my conclusion is that the incident is far more easily explained by the presence of a centuries-old Asari serial killer being able to hack into the atrocious computer security of that decrepit old Cardassian station. Calling it a Dominion operation when we had no indication of Dominion involvement in the situation is foolish."  
  
"Jarod's report on the virus used on DS9 says otherwise."  
  
"Commander Jarod's report simply specified that the attack vectors were similar. Not that they were the same." Davies put his hands together on the desk. The gesture briefly dismissed his hardlight keyboard. "This seems to me to be nothing more than the desperate flailing of a partisan for the Gersallians and the Order of Swenya. Frankly, you should have followed your mentor's example, Captain, and kept you mouth shut, because there's nothing that you can do or say to cover up the fact that your Gersallian friends have been caught red-handed engaging in espionage against the Alliance military. And if I have my way, the Gersallians are going to outlaw that damn Order or be driven out of this Alliance. And if that costs us a third of our memberships, that's fine by me, because we'll be a better and safer organization without them."  
  
Robert looked across the desk at Davies with near-incomprehension. He understood that Davies had suspicions of the Gersallians, but this was taking that even further. "Can't you see what you're doing, Admiral?", he asked. "All of this paranoia and suspicion is going to destroy the Alliance!"  
  
"I'm well aware of what can or can't destroy this Alliance, Captain," Davies retorted. He started typing again. "And it seems to me that you've already picked your side on that matter with what you've become." Before Robert could ask what he meant, Davies smirked at him. "Oh, I know what you are, Captain. I read the report on Gamma Piratus. You've become one of _them_."  
  
"If you mean I found out I've got these life force powers, yes," Robert said. "It let me save the lives of my colleagues and stop the Nazis from taking over the Facility."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure it did," Davies said. There was a dangerous glistening in his dark blue eyes. "But that's the problem. Powers, things like that, are a threat to the liberties of the Alliance and its people. That blast tonight proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt in my mind. One saboteur, _one_ , waltzed right through all of our security by mentally dominating our people. I shudder to think of what entire organizations of them can do. Because when you think about the number of people they can dominate and the power they can wield, and how many of them there are, you realize that nobody is safe from them. They could seize control of our government with ease. They've already done it with the Gersallians and the Dorei. And when you realize that, a good man comes to only one conclusion." Davies stood and leaned across his desk, drawing closer to Robert. "The Order of Swenya, and the Crimson Brotherhood and the Silver Moon and all of those other Dorei organizations, are grave and terrible threats to the citizenry of the Alliance. And I am going to neutralize those threats to preserve the sacred liberties of every member of this Alliance."  
  
The sheer vitriol and disgust coming off of Davies was almost putrid. There was no disguising what was within him: fear, and with that and being driven by it, was hate. Hate for anyone who could wield power over him. Who could turn his mind against him. The sheer horror of that thought of violation had hardened Davies' opinions on the matter.  
  
It was with frustration that Robert brought his hands up in a gesture of disbelief. "How can you be so close-minded… this is what the Nazis want! And the Dominion, and the Batarians, and all the other tyrants and dictatorships that stand to benefit from the Alliance collapsing! They want us at each other's throats!"  
  
"The meta-powered beings of the Multiverse are greater threats to this Alliance than any of those forces you just mentioned," Davies retorted. "I want the Nazi Reich gone too, but not at the cost of my freedom of thought. If I had to choose, I'd gladly be supporting Pensley's peace broadcasts if it meant saving the Alliance from your friends.""  
  
"People with these abilities aren't threats to you," Robert insisted. "It doesn't work that way!"  
  
"So you say. But I have little reason to trust you." Davies was still oozing vitriol, and it was joined by intense satisfaction. He took his seat again and resumed typing. "Now, you've said your peace, Captain, and I have work to do. I suggest you return to your ship. Your part is done and you are dismissed."  
  
Robert's first desire was to plead for time, to persuade Davies he was wrong. But there was no mistaking that oily, dark feeling he was getting from Davies. There would be no persuading him with talk. Davies was convinced of a threat, and now he had evidence that his suspicions were correct. And that was all there was to it. Dejected, Robert began to walk toward the door to leave.  
  
One last thought came to him. He turned briefly. "Admiral, if you're so worried about people with life force powers being able to take over minds, why did you let me come in here alone?"  
  
Davies looked up from his desk and smirked. "Captain Soveral has been monitoring us. I've been keeping in touch with her the whole time. At the first sign of you using your powers against me, she was going to fry your brains out with a microwave pulse rifle. Now, as I said, you are dismissed."  
  
Robert blinked and opened the door. Captain Soveral was indeed standing on the other end. A black-painted rifle with an emitter at the firing end was in her arms. She smirked at him. "The yeomen has a weapon as well."  
  
She did indeed. Also pointed at Robert.  
  
"I've also alerted security to send a sweep our way. So I don't suggest you try anything, Captain, if you want to live." Soveral tilted her head to the door. "You may go."  
  
Robert nodded. The paranoia and fear oozing from Soveral was just as bad as that from Davies. He almost got the sense that she _wanted_ him to "try" something, just so she would have an excuse to shoot him.  
  
He didn't give her the chance. He went for the door.  
  
  
  
  
When he arrived at the shuttle bay, Robert found the others waiting. "How did it go?", Lucy asked.  
  
"Davies thinks he's won," Robert sighed. "He's… poisoned by hate and fear about us. He thinks we're out to use our powers to dominate the minds of the government and rule the Alliance like.. I don't know, some clique of super-powered beings."  
  
"He thinks we are like the Brotherhood of Kohbal," Meridina said. "Darkness does manifest as desire to rule and to dominate."  
  
"Either way, he's enthusiastic about tomorrow. He's convinced that he's got the smoking gun he was looking for. And he doesn't care at all about the issue with Kiang."  
  
"Is there anything more we can do?", Jarod asked.  
  
"I… I don't know," Robert said. "Admiral Maran's helpless. Depending on how things go tomorrow, President Morgan might even be forced to re-assign him. And I'm not sure the President can do anything. Not with the bomb, I mean."  
  
"Then it may be over," Meridina said quietly. "Maybe it has been for nothing…"  
  
Lucy gave Meridina a worried look. "We should go back," she said. "We're all exhausted."  
  
"I have a shuttle ready," Jarod said.  
  
"And a pilot?"  
  
"Oh, no pilot." Jarod smirked. "I gave some advice that was helpful and the assigned pilot signed off for the day. The flight control officer's agreed to let me pilot the shuttle back. I'll have a couple of the flight crew fly it back in the morning."  
  
"Then let's go," Robert sighed. "After the day we've had, I just want to collapse in bed."  
  
  
  
  
  
"It's that device, isn't it?", Lucy asked, as she approached Meridina's quarters alongside her mentor. "That's what's bothering you."  
  
"It is more than the device," Meridina said. "I cannot get the feeling out of my being that everything is going wrong. Something is going to happen. And because of the darkness infesting Admiral Davies, we can do nothing about it."  
  
Lucy had to admit she felt apprehensive too. Like something terrible was about to happen. But she couldn't place it, not exactly. "What do you think will happen?"  
  
"Destruction. Death. Slaughter. And from it more." Meridina's blue eyes hazed with doubt. "But the darkness within me… I can't be sure if what I'm seeing will come to pass or if it is a reflection of what is inside. If I'm distorting my sight with the darkness within me."  
  
"Maybe not, but we can't take that chance." Lucy frowned. "Let's get some sleep first? Then maybe in the morning we can figure something out."  
  
  
  
  
The day had been a blur of paperwork and quick meeting for Julia. That had been a benefit, if only to keep her from facing the twisted up feelings inside.  
  
But once she was trying to sleep, that benefit went away. She couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed while her mind continued to run the images in her head. The tactical reports that Robert and Locarno had filed, and Zack's, had made the progress of the battle clear. She kept thinking of the things she would have done had she been there, advising Robert, and how that might have changed the battle. Maybe they could have saved more ships… no, certainly they would have. Maybe even the _Themistocles_.  
  
It seemed like she had finally settled into sleep.  
  
Suddenly her multi-device went off. She sat up and opened her eyes. The drydock was gone, replaced by burning ships and energy weapons fire raining down on the ship. Her eyes widened and Julia sprinted off to the bridge, still in her nightgown. The cyan-toned garment was hardly fitting for duty, but she had to get to the bridge, she had to be there! They needed her!  
  
She about jumped into the lift and shouted "Bridge!" It started lifting her up while the ship rocked beneath her. The journey kept going. Far longer than it should have. "Go faster!", she demanded. "Faster!"  
  
" _Unable to comply. Lift car already at maximum safe velocity._ "  
  
A long growl of frustration answered it. "Get me there you stupid…!"  
  
Finally, after even more time, the door opened. Julia rushed out onto the burning bridge as the vessel rocked around her. On the viewscreen a Nazi dreadnought was pumping super-disruptor blasts into the _Aurora_. "I'm here! What's happening?"  
  
"You abandoned us."  
  
The voice was Cat's. But off. Julia turned toward Sensors.  
  
Cat's blackened corpse was laid against it. Her head lolled, lifeless, to the side. But the mouth still moved. "You abandoned us, Julia."  
  
"Why?", another voice asked. Angela was sprawled out on the floor nearby, half of her body ablaze and her eyes staring dully upward. "Why weren't you here?"  
  
Julia's breath quickened. She looked around in a panic. Barnes stared at her, a blackened corpse at Engineering. "You should've been here!", he accused.  
  
"You left us to die," agreed the slumped corpse of Nicholas Locarno. He was in her chair.  
  
"We needed you and you abandoned us." That was from Robert. Julia, trembling in disbelief and fear, rounded the side of the command area to go toward her seat and his. He was laid back in it, arms dangling to either side, a disruptor burn between his lifeless eyes.  
  
Leo was on the ground nearby, a medical case in his hand opened and its contents strewn about. Even as he didn't look toward her, his mouth moved. "You weren't here."  
  
"You weren't here!"  
  
"Ye weren't at yer post!"  
  
After the accusations from Zack and Scotty, Julia started to turn, trying to follow the voices, until she found herself in engineering. Not on the _Aurora_ , but on the _Koenig_.  
  
Karen Derbely, in hospital gown and wrapped in bandages, was standing beside the plasma coolant conduit. "Look at what happened to me," she said, her voice scratchy and strange. "Because you weren't here, because _you weren't here!_ "  
  
Behind Derbely the conduit splintered. Julia screamed as the coolant rushed like an ocean wave and washed over her, cooking her to…  
  
Julia sat up, a scream still in her throat, and again was in the quiet darkness of her quarters. Once the scream stopped the only sound was the heaving of her breath. She looked out the window and saw nothing. She'd set her windows to tint mode.  
  
It was a dream. It was all a dream.  
  
The time said 0250. That made Julia groan as she slid out of bed. Her blue sleeping gown had a coat of sweat now. And her mind… her mind was in such agitation that she knew she wouldn't be falling asleep soon.  
  
Her first act was to assume a ready stance and to begin the slow movements of a _t'ai chi_ routine. If it worked she'd be able to get some sleep soon. All she had to do was let her mind calm down.  
  
It didn't.  
  
  
  
  
The dreams came back for Robert that night. The broken, twisted remnants of a city stretched before him, shadowy figures dancing just out of range of the light, and beyond a single light pierced the sky. A loud noise, like a trumpet horn sounded through the Devil's synthesizer, rattled his bones.  
  
And then there was a scream. He turned. Julia was strapped into a chair of some sort, with something braced around her head while her bare wrists were covered in straps, while SS men stood nearby at controls. Her face contorted into agony and she cried out. Fassbinder, the SS man killed at the Gamma Piratus Facility, was standing beside her smirking as he looked to Robert. He started to open his mouth.  
  
But then he was gone. Robert stood in a room with men in SS uniforms strewn everywhere, already dead or unconscious. Winds whipped around him like he was standing near a tornado. He looked up and saw a young woman in a tattered vest and suit, both red with gold or yellow trim, standing on a raised dais. The winds whipped around her. When she opened her eyes, they glowed with pure energy. Robert raised his arms in self-defense…  
  
....and then he was somewhere new. To his surprise, it was the Senate chamber of the Alliance. And it looked like a war zone, with work stations still sparking while the dead bodies of gunmen and Senators and others were strewn about. "This is all your fault!", screamed a voice. Robert turned and found Admiral Davies over the dead body of Commander King. "I'm going to destroy everything you cherish!", he vowed. "I will not let you win!"  
  
And he could imagine it, in a flurry of horrible images, a host of Alliance fleets destroying one another accompanied by the Alliance flag being torn in half. When the destruction ended he looked up.  
  
It was New Liberty that was burning. Beth and her wife were among the dead at his feet, and on the Government Building, a Nazi swastika fluttered triumphantly in the flame-swept winds consuming the Colony. A wolf howled in the background. And then he heard the door chime and…  
  
….and Robert was awake, sitting up in bed, while the door chime went off in the main living area. He looked over and saw he was alone. Angela had gone to bed in her quarters when he hadn't returned. He took the time to pull on a pair of knee-length shorts before stumbling to the door and opening it.  
  
Julia was standing in the doorway with reddened eyes. She'd pulled a baby blue bathrobe over the emerald nightgown she'd changed into. "Hey," she said. "Are you…?"  
  
"Angel's not here," he replied. His eyes felt heavy, but after that dream he knew he'd be awake for a while. "Come in."  
  
Julia stepped into his quarters. "Do you want to have a coffee?", she asked. "It looks like we're not getting any sleep."  
  
"Let's give it half an hour, the last thing I need is for the caffeine to keep me up when I could fall asleep again." He went to his replicator. "You?"  
  
"If you're not having any, I won't."  
  
"Okay then. I'll get us some tea then." He looked back to his machine. "Brown tea, unsweetened, warm. Two mugs, standard servings." Light coalesced as the atoms were moved about, forming the requested containers and beverages. He picked them up and brought them over to the couch, where he handed one to Julia. He stepped beside her and sat to her right, at the edge of the couch. "So, here we are," he said.  
  
"Looking like two insomniacs fresh out of bed," Julia added, smirking.  
  
Robert looked down, as if just noticing he was shirtless. "Ah, yeah."  
  
"At least it's an enjoyable view," Julia added in a teasing tone.  
  
"Right." Robert sipped at the tea. It wouldn't wake him up like coffee. If anything, he hoped that it would soothe enough that he would go back to sleep. "So… bad dreams?"  
  
"You've got those life force powers, that's cheating," Julia answered. She took another sip.  
  
"Too true." Robert sighed. "And they're part of the problem. I take it you heard?"  
  
"I did." Julia shook her head. "Someone's already let it slip that a Gersallian was behind it, and that it might be the Order."  
  
"Davies. Preparing the way for his grand plan to crush the Orders or drive the Gersallians and Dorei out of the Alliance." Robert shook his head. "The man was ready to have me shot tonight over these powers."  
  
"You're joking."  
  
"I'm not." Robert sipped at his tea again. "And what about you? What caused your bad dream?"  
  
Julia took a quiet sip first. "I… it's probably this… twistiness I feel inside."  
  
"From not being there?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Robert shook his head. "But you can't blame yourself…"  
  
" _I know_ , Rob." Julia's voice was laced with irritation. "I know that. Rationally. Nobody can blame me for not being there. You don't, Zack doesn't, Maran doesn't…"  
  
"But you do."  
  
"Yes." She nodded. "Yes, I do, and I shouldn't, but I Goddamned do." She put her left arm on her left thigh and used the hand to prop her head up, half covering her face in the process. "It's like there's this part of me that refuses to accept any reason for it. It's mad as hell I wasn't there and it's making me suffer for it."  
  
"Sometimes our head and our heart aren't in the same place," Robert sighed. "I'm sorry that it's making you feel that way."  
  
"Well, nothing you can do about my psyche." Julia moved her head to take another drink. "So is this it? I mean… is this thing going to blow up?"  
  
"Senator Kiang called for a Senate session tomorrow. The Defense Committee will produce the relevant evidence." Robert shook his head. "Maran's helpless. Morgan can't do anything about it. Whoever did this, whether they're Gersallian or not, made a mess of things. We lost lives tonight."  
  
"Right." Julia nodded, but her eyes were dark. "You think this will go that far?"  
  
"I think the Alliance is about to fall apart." Robert's expression was dark. "And I think that it might be the Dominion's fault."  
  
"Kiang." Julia nodded. "Kane did say he didn't get in to see her right away."  
  
"Could be nothing."  
  
"Or it could be that she was replaced by a Changeling."  
  
"Right." Robert pondered that. "So, how do we convince anyone? After tomorrow it'll be too late. The news will go out what happened and the Gersallians' role in the Alliance will be destroyed."  
  
"Except the evidence isn't one hundred percent," Julia noted. "So all of the people who like the Gersallians will see it as Hawthorne and Davies stretching the evidence to justify a bigoted agenda."  
  
"And all the while, Pensley will be in the Council, pushing the anti-war agenda."  
  
"As if the Nazis will make peace and keep it." Julia rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, but that's not stopping him. And he'll get Tetzel's Senator to agree with him, and they'll push to resume their peace proposal broadcasts to…"  
  
After a moment, Julia looked at Robert, who stared dully ahead. "Robby?"  
  
" _Resume_ peace broadcasts," Robert murmured. "He said he wanted to _resume_ them."  
  
"Okay?"  
  
"Which means that they've already been made before," Robert said.  
  
"Right." Julia shook her head. "But what…" She stopped. Her eyes widened.  
  
"The broadcasts. That's how." Robert sat up and went over to his desk. "Computer, open priority channel, full encryption, authorization code Dale Juliet Zulu Romeo Three Five Six."  
  
" _Please specify recipient._ "  
  
Robert leaned over it. Julia stepped up beside him. "Commander Elizabeth King."  
  
" _Locating specified recipient. Standby._ "  
  
"Why King?", Julia asked.  
  
"Because Maran can't do anything about it now, and Davies would literally take the Devil's word over mine right now."  
  
"And King won't? She's his spy, remember?"  
  
Robert shook his head. "True, but she puts her duty before her prejudices."  
  
"Ah." Julia sighed. "Well, I'll leave you to it."  
  
Robert stopped leaning over his desk and looked over to Julia. "Hey, Julie?" He put a hand on her arm as a gesture of support. "I know that this isn't something you just get over. All I can say is… I trust you. I trust you more than I trust myself, and if you're not here for a crisis, I'll always know it's for a good reason. I know you won't abandon us, okay?"  
  
Julia responded with a faint smile. "Thanks," she said. "I'm hoping that helps."  
  
"Me too." Robert looked back to his desk monitor.  
  
A moment later King appeared. The background seemed to be that of an apartment bedroom. The call had roused her from bed, so King was in a conservatively-made night-robe. A bright, shiny pink robe, but a normal one still.  
  
"I guess she doesn't sleep in her uniform," Julia mumbled to herself, so low even Robert barely made out what she said.  
  
" _Captain._ " King was clearly irritated, and just as clearly dedicated to hiding it. " _I suppose you have a good reason for waking me at this ungodly hour_?"  
  
"Commander, Pensley talked about _resuming_ peace broadcasts to the Reich," Robert said. "So there have already been broadcasts, right?"  
  
" _I believe so. I'll have to check the logs._ "  
  
"I think that's how our plans were passed on to the enemy."  
  
King frowned at that. " _How? Those messages were vetted by the Intelligence Office and the Command Staff._ "  
  
"Maybe not in the actual message. But someone, our spy for instance, may have been able to add the data if they got access. A subchannel or something. Something most people wouldn't see unless they knew what to look for."  
  
King considered that. " _It's possible. Although if true, the consequences are horrifying._ "  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
" _As I said, those messages were carefully vetted up to the moment of transmission. For any additional data to be included in the package would have required the highest accesses. I'm not even sure the technicians themselves could do it and not be noticed, only someone with access to the actual message and related data before its transmission._ "  
  
"Like?"  
  
King thought for a moment. " _The Senators on the External Affairs Committee_."  
  
Robert frowned. "Kiang."  
  
King's jaw clenched. " _I'll make inquiries. Please meet me tomorrow morning in the Rose Garden. Go ahead and bring the others._ "  
  
"We'll be there," Robert pledged. "Dale out."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Political tensions threaten to tear the Alliance apart.

Italarai and Kalnat had roused everyone that morning for a final layout of the plan. One of their number, Seqen, was doing his part already by preparing their transportation. Infiltration would mean staying out of sight; the day was warm and it would be impossible to justify wearing the heavy clothing that might have obscured their weapons to the eyes of others. Instead they would carry them in packs and duffelbags, made so that they would look like tourists if spotted inside the Senate.  
  
With one careful look Italarai noted their nervousness. She could feel their fear. That deep down, despite their devotion, they still did not want to die. She understood it, and indeed, she didn't feel bad about it either. To follow a cause to the final end was always difficult.  
  
"We will not die if it can be avoided," she stated. "The Interdependency will need us in the coming days. Our attack may very well provoke war. But without it, our people will be conquered from within, and we will become nothing but puppets to the Humans and their Alliance."  
  
The heads at the table nodded grimly.  
  
The door opened. Seqen stepped in. "The truck is ready," he said.  
  
"Then we leave immediately," Kalnat said. "For the people of Gersal."  
  
"For the people of Gersal," the others echoed.  
  
  
  
  
With the light of the sun and the growing warmth of the day, the Rose Garden looked particularly tranquil when they arrived to meet King. She was near a public meal replicator kiosk with a mostly-finished breakfast before her. "I was afraid you wouldn't arrive," she said as Robert sat down. Lucy, Meridina, and Jarod all brought up seats.  
  
"We had a few difficulties getting the carpool at Command to let me use a vehicle," Robert said. "I had to go to General Gulinev's chief of staff to get them to cooperate."  
  
"Yes, that would be Admiral Davies," she said. "He contacted me this morning with the suspicion you would try to intervene."  
  
"He's taking this way too far."  
  
"He is frightened of the powers you wield. I admit I'm not pleased with the prospect either." King sipped at her coffee. "The difference is, I know that you're not the kind of man to use them just to get your own way. And if you and Meridina were committed to covering up this incident, you wouldn't have identified the device in question so readily. Davies and his inner circle know you only as a brash radical assigned to a command above your station and with the power to compel them mentally."  
  
"I don't think I could compel a cat to bat yarn with these powers, honestly. But that's not what we're here for."  
  
"Indeed not." King frowned. "I've been up all night attempting to decipher the peace initiative broadcasts that were sent."  
  
"You didn't find anything?"  
  
"No. But that's not surprising, as my access has been restricted by Senate order. All I could access was a basic copy of the planned message and the raw data on the transmission itself, since it was sent through Stellar Navy channels." King held up one of the digital pads in front of her. "But I can't see what was actually sent."  
  
"I would think Davies would back you in getting to review them."  
  
"He can't on his authority. The President can, but without probable cause I can't go to him. The Senate would be in an uproar." King shook her head. "Hypothesis aside, we have no actual _proof_ that the plans were transmitted inside of the peace offers. Without that proof, nobody will let us have the access we need."  
  
"Maybe we don't need the actual transmission," Jarod said. "May I?"  
  
King nodded and handed him the digital pad. "What are you going to do?"  
  
"I'm examining the transmission data. How much raw data was used, for instance. A simple message, even as an official communication, wouldn't be above a certain size." Jarod examined the contents of the screen. Robert could only imagine the way that his mind was running, quickly analyzing what was before him in such a way that he was nearly putting himself into the shoes of the saboteur. "So I'm comparing the message that was planned to the volume of data that was actually sent." After a few more seconds Jarod smirked. "There you are," he murmured.  
  
"Commander?" King looked at him intently.  
  
"Each transmission is at least three percent larger than it should be with this message."  
  
"What if someone made last minute alterations?", Lucy asked.  
  
"Then they would be defying the Senate's explicit instructions," King answered. "What could be sent within that margin? The size of the message isn't that great, there's no way the plans could be mixed in."  
  
"Not in one message." Jarod showed a pleased smirk. "But what if each specific transmission had a different piece? I mean, presumably the message was transmitted repeatedly over a few days, right?"  
  
"Correct."  
  
"Then maybe the system was set to transmit the data piece by piece with every individual transmission of the peace message," Jarod said. "The Nazis, by analyzing the message, realize it contains something extra, and after several transmissions our spy has introduced himself, or herself, and sent them the plans they took."  
  
"A plausible explanation," King said. "I might be able to present this to the Senate."  
  
Robert nodded. But he was already thinking of something else. "We need to be in the Senate."  
  
King gave him a look. "I'm already putting my career at risk talking to you, Captain, I lack any authority to get you into the Senate. And why would you want to be there?"  
  
"Because I think something's going to happen today," Robert said. "I don't have any physical evidence for this, just my instinct and my power. I think whoever was behind that spying device is going to strike again. And maybe at the Senate itself."  
  
King pondered that. "You sound convinced, Captain. But should you be so certain of it?"  
  
"I'm as certain of it as I was certain that I needed to go down to the Facility at Gamma Piratus," he replied.  
  
For a moment King said nothing. She was weighing that thought in her head. "If you hadn't gone down, the SS would have taken control of the Facility."  
  
Robert nodded but said nothing. The others remained quiet as well.  
  
After another period of thought King sighed. "I'm going to get court-martialed for this, I suspect," she muttered. "But I think I can get you in." She checked her multidevice. "And we'd better hurry, the session will start soon."  
  
"We won't be able to take weapons into the Senate," Robert noted.  
  
"No, we won't." King frowned. "And we will be scanned for weapons before we go in."  
  
"So we'll have to be unarmed?", Lucy asked. "What good will that do if there's an attack?"  
  
"We will manage, Lieutenant."  
  
King heard Meridina's words, but she was clearly suspicious of them. She said nothing, however. Robert got the feeling she knew what Meridina was getting at and didn't want to even _think_ what she was thinking. "Alright, let's get going," she said. "I'll meet you at the aircar garage beside the Senate."  
  
Only after King walked away did Robert give Meridina a leery look. "The _lakesh_ won't show up on a scanner, will it?"  
  
"No. We craft them to evade the sort of scanning that finds weapons."  
  
"Right." Jarod sighed. "So we're going to smuggle two swords into the Senate Chamber. And to think I just got out of a cell."  
  
"Hopefully we will not need them," Meridina said.  
  
Robert frowned at the thought. This was the kind of thing that would further set off Davies' paranoia. But they needed to be ready to fight off anyone attacking the Senate, and that meant having at least something for self-defense. It was a risk he would need to take. "I don't want to keep Commander King waiting," he said. "Let's get going."  
  
  
  
  
Long ago, the area had been a residential neighborhood joined by the railroads that connected Portland to the rest of North America. Eventually the area had torn away by the conflicts and social dislocations that the Earth of the Federated Stars had known in the time between the 21st and 27th Centuries, becoming open land.  
  
Then the Alliance had been formed, and at the proposal of various authorities, the regions of the Northern half of Portland that had undergone this change had been handed over to the new United Alliance of Systems to be their capitol complex. The various government offices were to be housed in structures that, with 27th Century industrial technology, were ready within months of the announcement. The former Portland International Airport had been converted into a Spaceport for the increased off-planet traffic of the Alliance. Defense Command had, over the course of ten months, arisen in its place between the Columbia and Lake Vancouver.  
  
Council Hall was another such structure. It was two buildings joined by a central covered courtyard area, the northern building belonging to the Alliance Council and the southern building belonging to the Alliance Senate. The flag of the Alliance flew over both structures, each designed with elegant square marble columns along the exterior and in the light shades that all of the contributing cultures agreed would work. To a Human eye there was something slightly off about the structure. The dome over the covered courtyard was carved in the Gersallian style, a polished and gleaming glass exterior with a smooth, pyramidal-shape at the top, while the layers beneath it contained eaves that gave it the appearance of a pagoda, but with strong upward slants at the ends of the eaves as favored by the Alakin. The Dorei had contributed the internal halls and how they were laid out, made to resemble the Legislative Hall of the Dorei Federation in the capital city of Darnis on Doreia. The marble exterior reflected Western architecture while the Eastern influences showed in the eave overhang. The smaller domes above each structure were done in the styles prominent in the Indian subcontinent, the internal courtyard was adorned on the inside and outside by Arabic art (the designers had even worked calligraphy, denoting Arabic phrases about the strength of alliance, into the art itself).  
  
As with most bicameral systems, the lower house was truly representative (albeit at a rate of about twenty _billion_ citizens per Council Representative) with a large chamber that would house up to seven hundred legislators if the time came, while the upper house held three members per Alliance member state. One Senator was elected democratically by the citizens of a member state, one elected by the national legislature, or equivalent body, of the state in question, and the final Senator appointed by the Head of State of the member state. These representative policies left the Alliance Council, currently, with three hundred and seventy Councilmembers and eighty-seven Senators, all to represent the roughly seven and a half trillion beings that resided in the Allied Systems.  
  
And Robert knew that he was about to possibly decide the fates of those seven trillion something people. Their livelihoods, freedoms and liberties, their very _lives_ , could be lost if this went bad.  
  
 _This is when Julie would remind me that this is why we get paid the big bucks now_ , he mused as King led them through one of the non-public entrances to the Senate, located along the north side of the building. _Not that we're millionaires…_  
  
They were met by security almost immediately. "They're with me," King said.  
  
The Human guard who accepted her identification nodded in reply. He was Caucasian, with pale blond hair barely visible under his protective cap and dark brown eyes. When he spoke to say, "Please come forward for the security scan," it was with a Norwegian accent. Nearby his companion, a man with a dark complexion and features that Robert thought looked Indian, remained at the ready with his pulse pistol holstered.  
  
Robert was scanned and cleared. Jarod came next. That left Meridina and Lucy. Robert forced his face to become a mask of non-emotion as they were scanned. It seemed for a moment like the man was taking an overlong interest in Lucy. He waved the scanner over her again, as if looking for something…  
  
Lucy scowled. And Robert, for his part, felt guilty at the relief as he sensed what was in the Norwegian's head. It was a petty abuse of power, but he was doing the second scan just to have an excuse to look over Lucy again. He waved her through. Meridina didn't get quite the same scrutiny and went through as well. King led them down the hall.  
  
Once they were out of earshot, Robert looked to King. "That guard should probably get talked to."  
  
"Unfortunately, Captain, I have no standing for it," she answered. "Otherwise I would have already reported his conduct. Perhaps I'll have to go to Colonel Agarwal, she will be most interested I'm sure. But that is a matter for another time." King looked to her multidevice. "The session should be starting any moment. I will be called in shortly."  
  
"Jarod and I can present the evidence with you and answer questions," Robert said. "It might be best of Lucy and Meridina remained outside the Chamber at first."  
  
"Agreed." For a moment King was in thought. "I take it that Senator Kiang is at the top of the suspect list?"  
  
"You read the report from DS9?"  
  
"I did." King nodded. "I also find it more likely that the Asari was responsible. It doesn't pay to underestimate beings who have lived for so long, I think. But I won't dismiss your concern out of hand. 33LA has already proven the destruction a Changeling can cause and the extent to which it can hide from us. The prospect of the Chairwoman of the Senate External Affairs Committee being replaced by one…" King shook her head. "It is possible Admiral Davies has identified the wrong existential threat to our way of life."  
  
"I don't blame him for being worried about mental powers," Robert said. "Honestly I'm scared of what they can do too."  
  
"I've already been on the receiving end of them," Jarod added.  
  
"We both were, I recall," King noted. "Venir was an eye-opener."  
  
"Let's just hope Davies understands he's worried about the wrong threat, then," Robert sighed.  
  
At that moment King's multidevice went off. She breathed in as if to steel herself. "I've been summoned," she said. "Let's go."  
  
As they continued on, Robert contemplated the feelings he was sensing from her. King was afraid. Not of him or Meridina so much as she was her own "side" in this. Admiral Davies and Minister Hawthorne would, indeed, be furious at her for involving him again. She was putting a lifetime of work on the line for this. It was humbling to realize he'd won that much trust from her.  
  
Robert also felt guilty. He'd been brusque with her when she left the _Aurora_ with her ship. Indeed, his entire crew had been more than ready to see her go and to never see her again. Now he saw how unfair that was. He hadn't quite forgiven the spying, no, but as they marched on to the moment of decision before the Senate, he found he respected King more than he ever had before.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by a sense of uncertainty from Meridina. He looked back to her. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I am," she said. "I thought I sensed something, that's all."  
  
"It felt like a presence to me," Lucy said. "But maybe it was just my nervousness."  
  
"Maybe, or maybe not."  
  
They nodded at his remark. "We shall be prepared either way," Meridina pledged.  
  
  
  
  
The Dissenters' cargo truck was moving toward the Council Hall loading entrance, along the eastern side of the building, when Italarai felt it. The presences were vibrant and active to the senses of her _swevyra_ , three in total, although one was not so strong as to feel like a threat. Knowing that such presences meant those who were capable with their life energies, it meant a complication for Italarai in that they might sense her use of her powers. "There are _swevyra'se_ present in the area. I will be sensed," she murmured to Kalnat.  
  
"Then we go to the alternative," he murmured back. He went to the front of the cargo area and pulled open the slide to speak to Seqen. "Are we ready?"  
  
"I'm pulling up now," Seqen said.  
  
"Italarai cannot help us. It will have to be you."  
  
He could hear the uncertainty in Seqen's voice when the reply came. "For Gersal."  
  
The truck pulled up to the forcefield gate at the building exterior. A Human man, light-skinned with a bit of a tan, met them, wearing the green and black uniform of a Council Hall Security Officer. "ID and authorization," he said. "What's your purpose?"  
  
"I am picking up items at the request of Senator Gilnatan." Seqen handed him the ID, provided by the Interspecies Cultural Exchange Directorate, and the authorization order provided by their Senate contact. He forced his nervousness down into his belly, knowing the slightest suspicion would force him to use lethal means. And out here, in broad daylight, anyone could spot them. The entire mission could fail at this moment.  
  
When the guard handed him back both items, Seqen breathed a sigh of relief that a last moment constricting of his throat made into an apparent grunt of acceptance. The guard pressed a key and the forcefield disappeared. Seqen gently tapped the accelerator pedal and moved the truck into the gate. A ramp down led them into the basement level loading docks.  
  
They were now on the clock. Their logged arrival wouldn't immediately engender suspicion - at least not if their source had been accurate - but given enough time, their failure to depart would be noticed. Transport vehicles weren't supposed to stay for long after all, and they still had to deal with the mandatory security inspection. And Italarai could not manipulate their minds now, so he would have to deal with them quietly.  
  
The truck came to a stop near one of the loading areas. Seqen stepped out of his truck while, in the back, Kalran looked to his technician, Laras. The bearded, tan-skinned Gersallian was looking over a display. "I've used the codes provided to patch into the feed for Senate security," he said. "Our contact came through. The security grid in the Senate Chamber is stuck into a loop. As far as their minders are concerned, everything is reading fine."  
  
Kalran nodded. As he did, he heard Seqen speaking with the inspectors. "Activate personal cloaks," he instructed. Everyone, within a second of one another, triggered the personal cloaks they were carrying on their belts. The cloaks only had a few minutes' worth of charge given their power demands - the superior Darglan-technology personal cloaks had not been available for use when the operation was planned - and this was to be their main use in the plan; get them into the Senate.  
  
Once the inspectors opened the back, they reached for their scanners as they climbed in. Kalran waited patiently and quietly to see if they detected the hidden transporter pad under the sensor-absorbent material laid into the truck's rear bed. If they found it, then he would have to kill them here and now, and it made their escape even more complicated. Perhaps even impossible. But if they didn't…  
  
After several tense moments, the two seemed satisfied by the results and left the back of the truck. Seqen thanked them. Behind Seqen, the others moved to the rear doors and quietly lowered themselves to the asphalt of the loading dock. "Swenya be with you," Seqen muttered, knowing Kalran and the others would hear. " _Mi rake sa swevyra iso._ "  
  
The strike team, with the batteries on their personal cloaks winding down, moved swiftly to the stairwell door. Their contact's authorization code let them into the stairwell and they ascended it, as rapidly as possible, as they bore down on their target.  
  
They just had to get to the Senate Chamber undetected. Then surprise would be theirs.  
  
  
  
  
The entrance King chose to enter was the southern one. They came through the door into a space between the raised seating area of the Senate. The carpet was emerald bordered by blue, and the wood paneling was done in one of the Dorei styles - Robert wasn't familiar with it - while ahead the overhead lights were made out as electric light chandeliers. Multiple desks were laid out and a Senator sat in each, although they only became visible as the party got to the end of the entrance way and to what proved to be the middle tier of the seating area. Above them were seats, and below them were more.  
  
Down, in the "pit" at the middle of the Senate, space had been set aside for the Defense Committee to sit. The quarters for them were cramped, with little room between each seat due to the confined space of the pit area. At the south end of the pit was a podium, presumably for any guests to address the Senate if requested.  
  
While the Senate was a circular chamber, the northern quarter of it was taken up by a series of raised platforms. The lowest platform had the Party Leaders. There were six recognizable political parties of Alliance-wide popularity, and from what Robert had learned of Senate practice, these six parties were recognized at this platform level by having their leaders in the Senate sit there. Given there were only 29 member states of the Alliance, Robert found it odd that there were that many political factions of that size. _I guess I'm used to Republicans and Democrats being it_ , he used. Sometimes it was odd that there were still bits and pieces of his pre-Facility life that persisted in this age.  
  
The second tier was for the President of the Senate, currently an Alakin Senator named Akreet, with green and yellow feathering around his head. The Sergeant-at-Arms had a place there as well, as did the Secretary of the Senate.  
  
The uppermost tier was where President Morgan was sitting, flanked by a couple of his staff. None of the Cabinet were present today save Hawthorne.  
  
Heads turned toward them as they approached the back of the middle tier. By the time they reached the lower tier and King was facing the Defense Committee, standing at attention beside the podium - she had openly avoided standing there - everyone in the Senate was looking their way. Robert glanced toward one of the lower tier seats to find that was where Senator Kiang was sitting. He still felt nothing quite out of the ordinary about her, but with all of the other emotions in the room - and they were starting to run high - he couldn't focus on her with any accuracy.  
  
Robert could feel Davies' disbelief and anger. Hawthorne had clearer control of his emotions. He was more curious than anything. And Maran… Robert tried not to give even the slightest grin at the flicker of hope he felt within his mentor's being. Or at Zoral's clear amusement.  
  
"If it pleases the Senate," Hawthorne began, "this is Commander Elizabeth King, tasked by the Defense Committee to look into the Gersallian attack and the security breach at Defense Command."  
  
Akreet gave a tilt of his head, an Alakin head gesture indicating acceptance. "You may proceed." At that, King went to the podium facing northward. Robert and Jarod took up positions beside her.  
  
"Commander." Hawthorne smiled, but it was brittle. "I see you have brought Captain Dale and Commander Jarod with you. I trust they are relevant to your report?"  
  
"Yes," she said. "In keeping with your orders from last night, I requested they attend to my investigation as members of my team."  
  
"This is outrageous conduct!", Pensley shouted. "Captain Dale and his officers were expressly removed from…"  
  
From the Senate desks came a roar of indignation and a babble of voices in various languages and accents. "Order!", was the usual shout, along with a few "Sit down!"s and one "The Councilman has no leave to speak!"  
  
"The Senate calls the Honored Councilman to order," Akreet declared. He smacked a gavel to his podium. "He may only speak when prompted by myself or the Defense Committee Chairman, as he is _well aware_."  
  
Pensley's face was going purple by the end of the rebuke, but he obeyed.  
  
"And what prompted you to make this decision despite the clear wishes of the Defense Committee, Commander?", Hawthorne asked. There was a dangerous tone to his voice.  
  
"Captain Dale was kind enough to share his insights into the security breach investigation," King explained. "He proposed a method for our war plans to be transmitted to the Nazi Reich that I thought credible. Upon further investigation, I have determined that his proposal was not just credible, but accurate."  
  
Hawthorne nodded his head once. "And that method would be?"  
  
Commander King held up her digital pad. "The data was transmitted in installments within the peace initiative broadcasts the Senate sent to the Nazi German Reich at the end of March."  
  
Several voices in the Senate broke out in a furor. Pensley's anger and disbelief overwhelmed Robert's feelings of the others. He stood and glared to Hawthorne, who nodded. "This is a travesty!", he shouted. "This is a fraud. Commander King, either by her own will or at the will of another, has aligned herself with the militant radicals who dragged us into the war in the first place! This is nothing more than an attempt to block all prospects of peace!"  
  
"I'm afraid not, Councilman," King answered. "The evidence speaks for itself. The transmissions sent to the Reich contained at least three percent more data than the message approved by the Senate mandated. That is above the margins of a few simple edits."  
  
Some Senators cried out in disbelief, others in anger. Pensley looked to one of their number, who was identified by the holographic nameplate as Kita Marswell, Senator of the Tetzelian Republic. The dark-haired woman stood. "I move that the Senate declare this line of questioning out of order. This claimed proof has no weight to it. A few percentage points of an error?"  
  
"The Tetzelian Senator displays her ignorance on behalf of her dear Councilman Pensley," one accented voice proclaimed. It was a Human Senator in the middle tier, Senator Benjamin Hadley of the Procyon Association. "Those of us who understand subspace communications are well aware that the claimed percentage is peculiar. I move that the Senate President order the release of transmitted data. Then we can judge for ourselves."  
  
Senator Kiang rose. "The Senator from Procyon has a point, but this is a matter for the External Affairs Committee. I move that we adjourn and allow the Committee to deliberate this evidence in the presence of the Defense Committee. After all…" Kiang eyed King and Robert together. "...only a Senator of the Committee could have changed the data between its approval and transmission."  
  
If Kiang was a Changeling spy… Robert felt she was a _damn good one_.  
  
Because if so, her words had a calculated effect. More and more Senators were shouting, furious or disbelieving or mortified at the idea that one of the ten Senators assigned to External Affairs could be a traitor.  
  
As the turmoil reached its fifth second, Pensley was glaring hatred at Robert. "This is a conspiracy!", he screamed. He pointed his finger at them. "A conspiracy against peace and against the Alliance by radicals and their Gersallian masters!" Robert could hear the enraged man's screamed words, but he wondered if many others could given the Senate was devolving into a heated argument. The rapping of a gavel told him Akreet was trying to restore order. Given the disbelief and fury in the room, this clearly wouldn't come immediately.  
  
"Oh no," he breathed, looking to Jarod.  
  
Jarod looked back. "What?"  
  
"This is what she wanted," he said back. "The Changeling _wants_ this disorder."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"To delay the Senate. To keep it deliberating, and in turmoil," Robert said, even as Akreet's gavel pounding grew louder. Above him, President Morgan gazed at the disorder that had gripped the Alliance Senate with eyes full of shame. This was supposed to be the orderly body that debated with calm, but the tempers and emotions that the crisis had spurred was taking hold even here.  
  
"Whatever's going to happen, it's going to happen at any…"  
  
The gunfire erupted before Robert could finish his sentence.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Political tensions threaten to tear the Alliance apart.

Meridina and Lucy remained outside of the Senate Chamber's southern entrance, listening intently as the shouting within grew. Lucy gave a glance toward Meridina and held back a sigh. Months ago, Meridina had been this figure of supreme, calm confidence in Lucy's life. Now she looked like a monster might jump from the corner at any moment. Much of the quiet confidence had given way to clear worry and doubt, and those were not qualities to people with their abilities.  
  
Whatever she was suffering internally, however, Meridina was still quite skilled, and Lucy could feel her become more alert. _Lucy, do you feel that?_  
  
Lucy focused for a moment. At first she felt nothing, at least nothing that stood out against the growing emotional agitation coming from the Senate chamber. But as the seconds passed she felt it. Nervousness, tension, but defiant intent mixed within.  
  
And violent thinking. Someone was steeling themselves for imminent killing. Intentional, unrelenting, and brutal killing.  
  
Lucy felt under her uniform jacket and to the space at her waist where her _lakesh_ was hidden.  
  
Meridina's body had tensed. She made no similar movement. But yet, within seconds she was moving. Her hand swept out and energy lashed out. A sharp impact sounded against the far wall. Another thump came from the floor.  
  
Out of nothingness appeared a dark-clad man, Human-lookingg, with a weapon in his arms.  
  
Lucy had her _lakesh_ out and swinging just in time. Her blade moved at the commands of arms that Lucy was not really controlling. Her instinct, her bond with the universe, were guiding her blade to deflect the shots that came roaring out of nothingness. One shot deflected back into the unseen attacker caused a sudden explosion of sparks. A ripple in the air appeared and became another dark-clad figure, with a mean-looking automatic weapon in his hands.  
  
Said figure still had the gun pointing toward Lucy, and indeed was still firing, but Lucy didn't have to hold back his fire for long. Meridina lunged to his side and swung her _lakesh_ in a clean cut at his forearms. The slice lopped his hands and the lower third of his forearms off completely. Crimson blood spurted out and onto the normally-immaculate carpet. The man screamed in pain and shock at the damage.  
  
Lucy looked to their fallen enemies. Both were just starting to stir. Her first thought was to disarm them before they could recover.  
  
And then a sense of immediate danger filled her being. Lucy stopped and tried to focus on it. She felt her power instinctively move her body, turning her to the side.  
  
A _lakesh_ blade swung through the air she had just vacated. A single figure shimmered into view a moment later. Her attacker was a woman, bald, with haunting blue eyes focused entirely on Lucy. Some surprised briefly flickered in them when Lucy brought her _lakesh_ up and nearly cut her along the cheek.  
  
Italarai was stunned at what she saw. The Human had a _lakesh_. More importantly, she'd _trained_ with it. Italarai wasn't just facing one possible threat now. She would have to eliminate this one too.  
  
With a single movement of her hand, Italarai's power lashed out and slammed into Lucy. Lucy didn't get her defense up in time. The blast of pure energy struck like the blast wave of an explosive, hurtling Lucy through the doors and into the Senate Chamber.  
  
A Senate Chamber in which the earlier shouts of anger were now those of fear and terror.  
  
  
  
  
The gunfire had jolted the Senate's attention with swift and terrible efficiency. Senate President Akreet's calls to order halted as the sound echoed for a moment and stopped. "Sergeant-At-Arms," he said, "contact sec…"  
  
The east and west doors exploded at almost the same moment. Since each door had two security officers watching it, this had the side benefit to the attackers of eliminating four of the security staff, leaving only the two at the south door, the Sergeant-At-Arms himself, and a security man among President Morgan's staffers.  
  
As the explosions were still echoing in their ears, dark-clad figures came in with assault rifles. The lead one coming in from the east raised his weapon to spray the top tier with blue energy bolts. Morgan's people had already pulled him down into cover.  
  
The lead shooter from the west opened up, as did the fellow behind him. The Sergeant-at-Arms was too slow to avoid being hit, taking shots to the right shoulder and arm that brought him down.  
  
Further shots struck Akreet square in the chest. Robert was certain the Alakin was dead before he hit the ground.  
  
King rounded the podium and dashed for the Defense Committee chair. The incoming shots soon moved down toward them. She plowed into Admiral Davies and dragged him to cover. Maran and Gulinev had already secured Minister Hawthorne. The other members of the Committee were taking cover.  
  
So were many of the Senators. But cover wouldn't help those in the lower tier. More gunmen were pouring into the Senate from both east and west, and while fire continued to converge on the President's location and the Party Leaders, the other shooters were firing into the pit.  
  
By this point Robert and Jarod were moving. Jarod moved into cover toward the southern door, the only one not breached, where the armed guards there were already moving up to try and shoot at the incoming shooters. But they only had sidearms available, not rifles. One of their number, a male Dorei, took a blast to the chest and fell down right beside Jarod, dead. Jarod picked up his gun and went back to the corner. When no suppressive fire came Jarod leaned out and lined up his pistol with one of the shooters coming in on the west side. His weapon barked, two shots in succession. One was slightly off and the other struck a shooter in the shoulder, knocking him back into cover.  
  
Robert went into the pit as well. He could feel the attention of a couple of the shooters on him and jumped just as they fired where he was, sending shots that just missed him and hit a desk behind which one of the senators was cowering.  
  
He put everything into the jump, just as Meridina taught him, and it cleared him straight to the second tier. He landed between Akreet and the Sergeant-at-Arms. He sensed nothing from them; they were dead, and there was nothing he could do about that. But he could still save the others.  
  
A cry came from the Senate floor. He looked in time to see Senator Marswell struck again by a shot. She fell to the ground, clearly dead.  
  
Looking to the west, Robert saw the man Jarod shot helped into cover by a compatriot. A third figure, a woman, was tracking him with her gun. He had only moments.  
  
Robert extended a hand toward the Sergeant-at-Arms' fallen body. The pulse pistol he had been carrying zipped through the air and into Robert's hand. He swung it over, diving to the side as he did, and barely evaded the first burst of shots from the dark-suited woman's rifle. He let his instincts, directed by the power within him, take the aim and fire.  
  
The shot nailed the attacker in the throat. She went wide-eyed and gagged as she fell over.  
  
He hit the floor, on his side, and adjusted his gun and aim to the remaining uninjured gunman on the west side. Again he pulled the trigger, squeezing it several times.  
  
Initially his shots were a little off, missing to either side. But as the gunman turned, Robert pulled the trigger one more time. This time, whether it was luck or his abilities finally synching like they should, he got the hit he was looking for, a shot right in the forehead. The figure slumped over beside his wounded friend, the back of his head smoking. "The west door is clear!", Robert shouted. "West is clear, get everyone out!"  
  
The surviving security man beside Jarod heard Robert and shouted the same. "West door, evacuate now!" Jarod nodded in agreement.  
  
As he turned to begin giving covering fire on the east side, the southern door exploded inward. Lucy landed on the ground beside him and rolled until she reached the steps leading down to the lower tier. She grunted and, with effort, picked herself up. There was no mistaking the gleam of the _lakesh_ now in her hand.  
  
She brought it up as a blur zipped past Jarod. Another woman - Italarai - swung her own _lakesh_ toward Lucy's neck. The blow was parried. Lucy grunted and, in a move that was surprising enough the Gersallian never saw it coming, threw her head forward hard enough to smash her forehead into the nose and mouth of her attacker. An audible crunch came and blood gushed from the broken nose that resulted from the impact.  
  
Jarod brought his pistol into place to shoot the woman from behind. Lucy noticed first and sent him a quick mental message, more of a sensation: _No_. He turned his attention to the gunmen along the eastern door to aid Robert and the last remaining Senate security guard.  
  
Robert was staying behind cover. Bursts of energy flew over his head with enough frequency that he knew it would be impossible to leave cover and not get shot. Mentally he reached out for the others. _Meridina?_  
  
 _I am occupied_ , was her return thought. _There are three more attackers attempting to come in by the south entrance._ For a moment their connection lapsed. _Two now._  
  
 _Jarod? Lucy?_  
  
 _Busy!_ That thought was definitely Lucy's, and Robert heard another clang and electric buzz as _lakesh_ blades slammed together.  
  
 _I'm helping to get the Senators out the west door_ , Jarod thought. _And for the record, I hate telepathic communication._  
  
Robert smirked at that. _Be that as it may, I could use some cover fire_. He reached out mentally for King and sensed her approaching. _Commander King?_  
  
 _Get out of my head!_ was the sole reply, a powerful thought that actually made Robert's head hurt.  
  
A burst of fire from overhead came from the other side of the room, forcing the other gunmen into cover before they could shoot at Robert again. He heard footsteps thumping on the floor and turned his head to see King rushing up to join him. She'd claimed a weapon from one of the fallen attackers to the west door. Upon closer examination Robert recognized it as a MP-10 Particle Rifle, a common enough model initially built in the Colonial Confederation of D3R1.  
  
With King giving him cover fire, Robert rose over the desk of the dead Sergeant-at-Arms and squeezed off several shots. The gunmen on that door had taken cover at the nearest desks. One started to change cover, with King's weapon literally ripping the desk up, and Robert fired a shot that got the gunman in the leg. A cry echoed in the Senate chamber.  
  
The other two gunmen were trying to shift between suppressing the opposition and shooting at the Senators as they fled. One wild shot did take a Senator in the arm, sending him down his knees. Jarod quickly bolted out of cover and grabbed that Senator, helping him up long enough for two others to grab their colleague and help him along. Over by the west door Senator Sriroj and Admiral Davies were directing the evacuation. Davies had retrieved a weapon from the other fallen gunmen along that side and occasionally squeezed off a shot toward the fighting.  
  
The fight between Lucy and the swordswoman Italarai had moved toward the pit. Lucy was giving ground, using her _lakesh_ defensively and buying time for Meridina to finish off the attackers outside the south doors so they could work together. And it was clear Italarai knew it. Robert felt her surprise and frustration at how well Lucy was fighting. "You've been trained as a _swevyra'se_ ," the woman said in a harsh tone. "How?"  
  
"That's my little secret," Lucy retorted, catching another swipe of the blade.  
  
It was at that moment she felt the risk. A shot not just coming for her, but going toward one of the Senators. Lucy backed away from Italarai and then jumped backward, opening the range with Italarai, and using the break from the attack to swing her _lakesh_ to intercept the bolts that came toward her.  
  
Bolts, it would later be said, that would have struck Senator Sriroj directly had they landed.  
  
Indeed, said Senator noticed this and called out thanks, while above them the bolts flew upward and hit the electric chandelier. Sparks flew from blasted lights and rained down upon everyone.  
  
Italarai charged toward Lucy as she moved to adjust. Robert could feel the future of that move with crystal, horrible clarity. Lucy's blade temporarily out of position, an awkward posture to stop the first blow, a fist or foot to knock it away, and then… Lucy would die.  
  
So Robert, with King providing ample cover fire, turned and opened fire on Italarai as she got up to Lucy. Lucy did indeed make the awkward block, but Italarai couldn't take advantage of it. She felt Robert's shots coming and she twisted her blade to reflect them. One pulse deflected, then a second, and the third, deflected right toward the fleeing Senators…  
  
…where it struck Senator Kiang square in the side of the head.  
  
A number of people noticed it. They couldn't help it. And so it was with great shock that the pulse in question did not send her to the ground, dead. It did cause Kiang to stop and falter, yes, but it also caused the entire side of her head to briefly turn amber in color and began to lose shape.  
  
Robert's horror turned to an almost satisfied realization. Kiang was indeed what he thought she was. "Changeling!", he shouted. "Everyone down!"  
  
The shout, and other considerations, caused Senators near where "Kiang" had stumbled to fall back from her as she picked herself up from the ground. A bitter expression crossed the Changeling's face. Her entire body turned into amber and she flowed through the Senators toward the exit. Robert didn't care let the Changeling escape and moved his firearm over to engage her. But she was too fast and he couldn't risk shooting one of the fleeing Senators.  
  
It was King who opened fire. _WOM, WOM, WOM_ , one after the other, shots that nearly hit the Changeling each time and didn't hit a Senator. Robert wondered what she was doing. He almost asked until the feeling within him made him turn and face the other direction again. One of the last gunmen was trying to get a shot at their backs. He went for cover the moment Robert's gun started barking.  
  
The Changeling continued toward the door, but not directly, not with King's shots forcing her to dodge and evade away from the door. Further shots descended around her from the pistol in Jarod's hands. The infiltrator was shapeless, nothing but a flowing mass of amber fluid that evaded their shots. She had been stymied in her immediate escape attempt, so she changed tactics and started moving to the middle platform where Robert and King were. As she rushed them, dodging and weaving around King's shots, the amber began to coalesce. A hiss filled the air as she became an alien serpent of some kind, like a boa constrictor with the agility of a rattlesnake. Crimson scales covered the head, turning into brown and yellow further down the form.  
  
Robert felt the strike coming just in time. He jumped and knocked King over, causing the Changeling's strike to miss. Only after they were down did he realize that the Changeling had _wanted_ him to do that, as she continued on toward the east door.  
  
Ironically enough, it was one of the attacking gunmen who stopped her for the moment. Whether he knew what the Changeling was or not, he opened fire. Particle bolts filled the space in the Changeling's line of advance and forced her back for the moment.  
  
King and Robert wheeled around and opened fire on her. Being fired on from three guns and two directions had pushed the Changeling's evasive abilities to their limits. Several shots grazed the serpentine Changeling. Amber appeared over its scaly body as the hits caused the Changeling to lose form. A couple of direct shots brought it down into a formless amber puddle.  
  
With the common enemy disposed of, Robert and King had to take cover as the gunmen started shooting at them again. Robert heard one calling out in Gersallian and the fire on their position became relentless. The particle blasts were destroying the desks; they had to scramble down to the Secretary of the Senate's desk as those of the Sergeant-at-Arms and the Senate President became so battered they were no longer effective cover. The two gunmen shifted back toward the east door, firing as they went, and soon King and Robert would have no cover unless they fell back to the west side of the platform.  
  
Lucy could sense their danger. She parried another blow from her attacker and twisted her _lakesh_ around to catch the next. This gave her the position to force the wielder toward the Defense Committee table. With an instant to gather her focus, Lucy lashed out with her force powers. Raw, unseen energy sent her foe flying off into the abandoned desks of the middle tier. This gave her the opening to go the distance to the enemy gunmen as they retreated. They saw her coming and turned their particle rifles on her. Lucy's power guided her arms to block the incoming fire with her _lakesh_ blade.  
  
Robert and King slipped out of cover and brought their firearms to bear. Each sighted down on one of the gunmen and pulled their triggers. The pulse and particle fire caught their foes, as did one shot deflected by Lucy, and there was nothing the two gunmen could have done to save themselves at that point.  
  
  
  
  
Italarai got back to her feet in time to see Kanral and the last of his fighters go down. The mission was a failure. This displeased her.  
  
But displeasure could wait. She wasn't done yet. She had only moments with which to escape. Her hand went within her robe to the secret control there and her finger found the button to activate the beacon. She felt a surge of warning go through her as the device activated.  
  
At that moment Meridina whirled into sight. Her _lakesh_ slashed toward Italarai's, a disarming move she could never have stopped.  
  
It never connected.  
  
Italarai materialized in the transport truck down in the Council Hall loading dock. Seqen watched her materialize, and materialize alone. He frowned. "The mission failed?"  
  
"It did," she said simply. "Our window is almost closed."  
  
"Then we should…"  
  
Seqen stood, and the moment he was on his feet Italarai's free arm made a pulling gesture. She yanked him toward her in a burst of her power… just as she brought her _lakesh_ up toward his chest.  
  
Betrayal and shock flashed over his expression as Seqen felt the blade go through his heart. "Why…?", he asked weakly.  
  
"It is better this way," Italarai answered. Sensing he was already mere moments from death, she brought the beacon out and pressed a key along its side. This changed the system it was locked onto. With another press of the button, she was whisked away by a transporter.  
  
She materialized on a space vessel in orbit of Earth. The small personal shuttle had no IU drive, but it did have a solid warp drive for its size, and best of all, a second set of hardwired ID codes that she could use. In just five seconds of transporting she was in the cockpit seat activating her warp drive. The small shuttle shot off toward Proxima Centauri, where a ship would be waiting for her in interstellar space.  
  
Once she was secure, Italarai activated her backup comm line. She sent a single message to _Mastrash_ Goras.  
  
 _The operation failed to achieve optimal results. Suspect we were manipulated by Changeling from S5T3 Dominion. But it wasn't a total loss. The video from the Senate will make for interesting viewing and may provide opportunity for you._  
  
After that, there was nothing to do but sit and wait for shuttle to arrive at its rendezvous.  
  
  
  
  
The last of the attackers disappeared in a burst of white light a moment before Meridina would have knocked her blade away. She frowned and looked out at the Senate, and most importantly, at the dead bodies around the floor.  
  
The carnage was not as bad as it might have been. Still… all of this death. And all done by her people. _Her people!_ Shame and horror filled Meridina at the thought of it.  
  
This.. this was supposed to be a time of greatness. A time of hope, prophesied by Swenya herself. _This was not supposed to have happened._  
  
"Meridina!", Lucy shouted. "A little help?!"  
  
Meridina reacted immediately, jumping down to the main walkway between the middle and lower tier and running over to the east door entrance. Robert and Lucy had their arms up and hands out. Their power was flowing outward, binding the Changeling as she - or he, or it - writhed about on the floor. The amber fluid of the Changeling seemed to be trying to take shape. "We have to hold it," Robert gasped. "We have to keep it in place until security gets here with a container."  
  
"I understand." Meridina raised her arms and added her power to her students'. Together the three held the Changeling in place.  
  
King kept her commandeered assault rifle on the creature. Nearby Admiral Davies and Jarod walked up, weapons raised. "Security across the entire building is down," Davis said. "Someone scrambled all of the systems."  
  
"Someone using Senatorial access codes, I bet," Robert said. He kept his focus on the Changeling while talking; even with Meridina and Lucy helping and doing most of the work in holding the thing down, he didn't want to risk it getting up.  
  
"I doubt they'll be Kiang's," King said. "This entire incident has the feel of a false flag operation."  
  
"Your meaning, Commander?", Davies asked.  
  
"We were manipulated, sir," King said. "And so were the Gersallian radicals who launched this attack."  
  
"We'll see if the evidence backs your _theory_ , Commander," Davies responded harshly. He looked over at Robert and then Meridina and Lucy.  
  
For a moment, real fear struck Robert. Davies had them dead to rights. He could kill them all with a single sweep of the rifle on automatic fire… _No!_ Robert forced the thought down. Davies was paranoid, but he wasn't suicidal. Even he couldn't ignore a Changeling that had been masquerading as a Senator, and if he gunned them down nothing would hold the creature back. He'd read the reports from 33LA. The Changeling would kill him, King, and Jarod in seconds, and that was assuming Jarod didn't gun him down first.  
  
While King and Davies kept the rifles taken from the killed radicals trained on the Changeling, Jarod was busy operating his multidevice. "I'm gaining access to the Council Hall security system," he said. "And I just got a message through to the _Aurora_. They're relaying my reports straight to Defense Command."  
  
"Who did we lose?", Robert asked. "I saw Senator Akreet go down."  
  
"Djalis, Rawlinson, Marswell…" King's voice was firm, but Robert could feel her own horror at what happened. "I counted at least eight dead Senators."  
  
"Ten," Jarod corrected. "And Councilman Palas didn't make it."  
  
"Dammit," Robert muttered. He looked to Davies, but his biting remark died in his throat. Now wasn't the time. And right now, all he wanted to do was collapse as soon as the Changeling was secured.  
  
  
  
  
 _Mastrash_ Goras had called upon all of his discipline to force the surprise to come out when _Mastrash_ Maklir's junior apprentice informed the Council of the news over the interuniversal networks. The attack on the Alliance Senate was on all of the major news sites and networks. Goras waited patiently for confirmation that there was little information as to the extent of it. How many Senators had died, how many got away, and most importantly, if any of Italarai's people had gotten out.  
  
Karesl made it clear he wished to speak. Maklir nodded assent. "I move that the Council adjourn for now," Karesl said, his voice somber. "We must extend official condolences to the Alliance Senate for its losses on this tragic day, and offer the services of our Knights to find those guilty and bring them to Justice."  
  
Ledosh nodded. "I second the motion."  
  
"Let all vote as their _swevyra_ requires," Maklir intoned. The old man registered his vote last, as he always did. It was a unanimous outcome. " _Mastrash_ Ledosh, you will send the message."  
  
"It shall be done at once."  
  
The Council split up and went their separate ways. Karesl stepped up beside Goras. "A terrible tragedy." Karesl shook his head. He could sense Goras' intense thoughts. "Do you think it could be the Dissenters?"  
  
"If so, they have gone too far," Goras insisted. "We should continue to monitor this. We may yet find the opening we need."  
  
"If only it had not come with such bloodshed," Karesl sighed. He nodded to Goras and stepped into his office.  
  
Goras went into his own office. He found Italarai's message waiting for him. _Whatever did she mean?_ , he pondered. It would be hours before they could speak with any security. In the meantime, he would have to monitor communications.  
  
Night was starting to fall when more video reports came. As Italarai reported, it was a failure.  
  
It was only after seeing leaked videos of the fighting in the Senate that Goras realized what Italarai meant… as he watched Italarai duel with a Human woman with dark curly hair. Goras smiled at recognizing Lucilla Lucero, Meridina's student who had turned down the Order… and yet was here dueling with an Order _lakesh_ in her hand.  
  
 _Oh you foolish girl_ , he thought. _I have you. You have overreached, and now you and your entire cause are mine to crush._  
  
  
  
  
 _Ship's Log: 10 May 2642; ASV Aurora. Captain Robert Dale recording. The news of the attack on the Senate, and the outing of Senator Kiang as a Changeling infiltrator, have sent shockwaves across the Alliance. That the attack was instigated by Gersallian extremists, the anti-Alliance "Dissenters", has caused a lot of shouting and anger. If not for the unfortunate death of Palas and for Commander Meridina's prominent place in the defense of the Senate, it might have caused irreparable damage to the Gersallians' participation within the Alliance.  
  
Thankfully, with the Changeling a captive and Kiang's systems exposed to scrutiny, Commander King is ready to issue a report to the Senate with Commander Jarod. Commander Meridina, Lieutenant Lucero, and myself have been asked to attend as well._  
  
The damage to the Senate chamber hadn't been fixed. Eleven desks, mostly on the east side of the chamber, were vacant and covered by wreaths. The Council had sent their Sergeant-at-Arms, an Alakin female, to stand in the place of her fallen colleague. The various Senators looked on in quiet dignity, far from the state they had been in when violence had broken out, and all awaited for the new Senate President to call the session to order.  
  
The prior day the Senators had made their vote, and now Senator Sriroj Thiang stood as Akreet's successor. The appointed Senator of the Sol System Republic was as stoic as Robert had usually seen her. Above and behind her, President Morgan was again in place. More of his Security Service guards were flanking him. And the Council Hall security forces had been tripled. There would be no chances taken.  
  
Sriroj looked down at the pit, where the Defense Committee was together. They were short two members. The Council had yet to appoint a delegate to replace the slain Palas, and as Senate President Sriroj would no longer sit on the body, and again no delegate had been appointed yet to replace her. "Minister Hawthorne, the Senate is prepared to hear your findings."  
  
Hawthorne nodded and looked across the table to the witness podium, where King stood with Robert, Jarod, Meridina, and Lucy flanking her. Up in the visitor's gallery the command crews of the _Aurora_ and _Koenig_ were in attendance. "If it pleases the Senate, Commander King has finished her preliminary investigation into this terrible attack." Hawthorne nodded to her. "Please, proceed."  
  
"Yes sir." King looked to her datapad. "My investigation, with the help of the Planetary Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Portland Police Department, has determined that the attackers were Gersallian extremists known as Dissenters. They oppose Gersal's place in the Alliance." King looked up at Sriroj and Morgan. "It appears that they gained entry to the Senate using command codes that were officially assigned to Senator Yantanaran."  
  
Heads started to turn to the tan-skinned Gersallian woman sitting in the upper tier. Her face was pale with disbelief.  
  
"However, evidence recovered from the computers of the Changeling masquerading as Senator Kiang indicate these codes were duplicated." With that King defused the growing tension. "It appears that the Changeling was seeking to instigate a political crisis to split the Alliance over apparent Gersallian government terrorism."  
  
"There is nothing 'apparent' about Gersallian terrorism!", thundered Pensley from his seat. "The wreaths we see here are proof of that." By the time he finished, cries of "Order!" were starting to drown him out.  
  
"Sit down, you are out of order!", ruled Sriroj, and her glare told everyone she would not humor Pensley today. The irate Councilman obeyed.  
  
"Was this Changeling also responsible for the leaking of our plans to the Nazi Reich?", asked Davies.  
  
"It would appear so, sir, yes," King said. "By the Senate's decree, Commander Jarod and I examined the broadcasts sent to the Reich to offer peace. They did indeed have fragmented data parts that, when compiled, provided several of our war plans to the Reich. This includes the proposed raids on their supply lines."  
  
"And the Gersallian involvement in the data theft from Defense Command?", asked Maran.  
  
"Our records from the other day confirm a ninety-nine percent probability that the force-endowed Gersallian who escaped by transporter is the same woman who planted the data hacking device into Defense Command," King stated. "Communication logs indicate this woman and the Changeling had been in contact for at least a month beforehand."  
  
"Do we know who she is?" The question was from Senator Hipathi.  
  
"We do not yet, sir. We merely know she was trained in the arts of the Order of Swenya."  
  
"A good thing we had two defenders with similar training," noted General Gulinev.  
  
"Is there anything else you believe the Committee and the Senate should hear, Commander?", Hawthorne asked.  
  
"Only that our initial concerns about the Gersallian Order of Swenya appear overstated," King answered. "I can't rule out rogue elements in their organization, of course, and I will continue my investigation into the attack with the Committee's blessing. But it is clear that a blanket condemnation of the organization is, at this time, premature. Furthermore, this unprecedented security breach indicates we may need to consider our own organization of such talented individuals to answer to the Alliance Government. It is my recommendation that the Senate and Council launch an investigation of this." King looked to her side before facing Hawthorne again. "I would also say that this tragedy would have been far, far worse if not for the conduct of Captain Dale and his officers. With the security and future of the Alliance at stake, Captain Dale and his people showed impeccable virtue. They acted with intelligence, decisiveness, and valor in support of my investigation. And I needn't point out their conduct during the attack." King nodded her head. "That is all, Minister."  
  
"You may step down." Hawthorne nodded. "Do any on the Committee wish to issue a statement before we vote on Commander King's report?"  
  
Pensley stood. "I will only say that I am mortified that the peace initiative was abused so callously by this outsider, and that I plead with the Committee and the Senate to not let this incident bias them against the possibility of peace."  
  
Robert wouldn't let himself smirk. He was amused to see that General Gulinev had no such scruples, rolling his eyes at Pensley.  
  
"Anyone else?"  
  
Davies stood. "I have a statement," he said. As he did so, he eyed Robert and the others. "While Commander King's recommendation for an Alliance organization of… talented individuals has its merits, we must remember that such powers pose grave threats to the liberties our systems and nations cherish. The powers we have seen would allow these beings to crush us under a tyranny that we might never escape. I would move that aside from looking into our own organization to protect the Government from these threats, we also begin research into ways to suppress these abilities and to deal with those who abuse them. Such a precaution is manifestly necessary to our posterity. Otherwise we are risk from all sorts of organizations, be they the Order of Swenya or the Earth Alliance Psi Corps of E5B1. I ask the Committee and the Senate to please begin considering these measures while we still have time. That is all." Davies sat.  
  
Admiral Maran didn't react to that. But he showed Robert and the others a grin even as he ignored Hawthorne's last request for statements. When none came, the minister turned and looked up to the Senate President. "Senator Sriroj, the Committee has finalized its report into these incidents, and we have nothing further to add."  
  
"Thank you, Defense Minister." Sriroj looked down to the podium. "Commander King, Captain Dale, Commander Jarod, Commander Meridina, Lieutenant Lucero. Please, approach."  
  
Robert wondered what was going on, but he said nothing while joining the others in walking around the pit, up the steps, and to where Sriroj was standing. "It is my position, and that of the Senate, that we have you to thank for our very lives. The citizens of the Alliance can rest easy knowing that they have such valiant defenders standing watch over them. Your courage and commitment saved many lives and thwarted an attack that might have torn the Alliance asunder, and your boldness in the face of an unexpected threat ended the grave risk that the Changeling infiltrator posed." Sriroj looked up to Morgan. "The Alliance President and Stellar Navy may yet reward you in any manner they deem fit, but here and now, the Senate of the United Alliance of Systems awards you the Senate Order of Merit."  
  
The Sergeant-at-Arms stepped up and provided Sriroj with her first case. The medal was a metal disc of silver with the Alliance torch insignia set into the middle. Robert didn't move, didn't dare to, as it was pinned to his chest by the Senate President, who went on to do the same to the others.  
  
As Sriroj did so, applause came from the Senate and from the Gallery. Robert peeked momentarily to see Julia, Angel, and the others clapping with proud grins. His heart felt lightened by it. Despite everything that had happened, the Alliance had been preserved, and the Changeling threat dealt with.  
  
There would be battles in the future, of course, and he knew in his heart they would be vicious and dangerous and painful. But for the moment, that was still in the future, and here in the present, he could smile and enjoy the moment.  
  
  
  
  
 **Tag**  
  
  
  
  
After the ceremony and an attendant dinner, the crews returned to the _Aurora_. It was clear even on the trip back up that Meridina was not in the festive mood, indeed, that she had been forcing cheer for the benefit of her comrades.  
  
None felt that more acutely than Lucy and Robert. Robert gave Lucy a nod as they all left the shuttle bay, acknowledging her intent to check up on Meridina.  
  
Meridina had been swift in heading to her quarters. By the time Lucy got there she was already inside. Lucy stood at the door and leaned against it. "I'm here if you need me," she said simply.  
  
A moment later, the door opened.  
  
Meridina was sitting alone, staring at the book Lucy had always seen her looking at. The book that contained Swenya's writings. "It wasn't supposed to be this way," Meridina sighed.  
  
"What wasn't?"  
  
"I am lost," Meridina murmured. "I have had such faith in this. Such faith that this was the hour, this the time, but now…"  
  
"Meridina?"  
  
She wasn't supposed to say these things. But Meridina didn't care at the moment. She'd alienated her father for this cause. She'd risked her position in the Order for it. She'd _believed_ that the time had come, that this was the prophesied day that Swenya had promised millennia ago.  
  
But the Alliance wasn't becoming the shield of Light. It was falling into the darkness of fear. Men like Hawthorne and Davies were poisoning it from within, the Dissenters had committed _murder_ to alienate her people from the Alliance, and dark forces from without were constantly battering away at it, causing pain and suffering to increase.  
  
Meridina got up and moved through her living area. Her mind was in turmoil.  
  
Had her father been right? Had she, had Ledosh, been _wrong_?  
  
 _Was it all for nothing?_  
  
The dark thoughts within her stirred. She felt the cold doubt, the biting fear that none of it had mattered, nothing she had done. That all of her dreams were going to die.  
  
"Meridina, please, talk to me," Lucy urged. She took up a chair and sat beside her teacher. "Whoever these people were… I mean, there are always going to be people who are extremist, and who go too far. But we're not going to let them drive us apart. We've already stopped them once!"  
  
"I thought you were the ones," Meridina murmured, as if nothing Lucy said had registered. "I thought this was the time." The Gersallian, sniffling, stumbled over and landed on the floor beside her couch.  
  
"Meridina, it's not over." Lucy walked over to her and helped her onto the couch. "We'll figure this out."  
  
"Lucy, I am so sorry." Meridina shook her head. "I thought I was making things better, that I was helping you find a potential, but… it was my own ego. I wanted you to be the ones…"  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
"You're supposed to be them," Meridina continued. "You're supposed to be the Dawn Bearers! You're supposed to forge a shield of Light and bring us Hope and Victory! But that's not happening. Everything is going wrong, my people are going mad with fear and anger, and this darkness...it is _clawing inside of me_ , all of the doubt and fear that I… I have never felt like this before! The Goa'uld is gone, the mark should be gone, I should have healed by now! But I haven't! The darkness inside of me is still there and I can't make it leave!" Meridina finished her tirade by breaking down into tears.  
  
It was hard for Lucy to see Meridina like this. Amaunet had been bad enough, and she sensed the confrontation with the " _swevyra'kse_ " while rescuing Jarod had been troublesome in its own right… but now it was like she had been stripped bare of all expectations, all hopes, by seeing her people engage in such pointless killing. Indeed, to see one of her own Order helping in that slaughter.  
  
At this point in time, a despairing fear long buried under layers and layers of mental blocks, conditioning, and sheer willpower was surging through to the surface. Lucy could sense that in her. Meridina had truly become completely, deathly afraid that everything she had done had been for nothing, and everything she had believed had turned out wrong.  
  
"Whatever you're talking about, the darkness isn't going to take you, I promise," Lucy insisted. "I'll help you. Robert will too. We all will. You're one of _us_ , Meridina, you're a part of this family!"  
  
Meridina gave Lucy a sad look. "But I will not be much longer. Everything is ruined now. My errors have seen to that. And I am so, so sorry I didn't tell you before, about what I knew, about what I felt."  
  
Lucy blinked. She couldn't make out what Meridina was talking about. "Is it this 'Dawn Bearer' stuff you talked about? You can tell me, Meridina!"  
  
Meridina shook her head. "It's too late. I can sense it."  
  
"What? How is it too late? What is…"  
  
Meridina stood suddenly, as if she sensed something. She sighed and nodded. "Of course," she murmured. "They know."  
  
Wordlessly, Meridina began to strip her uniform off. Lucy watched in bewilderment as Meridina took a simple sleeveless linen robe of blue and white and pulled it on, covering her down to the ankle. She affixed her _lakesh_ to the linen belt that held the robe in place and walked to the door. "You don't need to see this," Meridina said. "But… I would feel better if you came."  
  
"Where are you going?", Lucy asked.  
  
Meridina did not answer. And Lucy could tell she wouldn't.  
  
But she still followed.  
  
  
  
  
Robert had been about to pull his uniform off, much to the delight of a waiting and smiling Angel, when he received the alert from the bridge. " _Sir, there's someone at the starboard airlock. Several people in fact. They're refusing to leave and are demanding to be let aboard._ " Lieutenant Pacetti sounded as professional as ever.  
  
"Have they identified themselves?", Robert asked.  
  
" _No, but they say they must speak to you. And they have government clearances._ "  
  
Angel was frowning at him over that, although he knew he wasn't the focus of said frown. "Let's find out what's going on," Robert said. Into his multidevice he said, "Tell them I'm on my way, Pacetti."  
  
" _Yes sir._."  
  
Together they started the journey to the lift. When they got to it, Julia was already stepping in. "Pacetti called you too?", Robert asked.  
  
"Yeah," she said. "He must think we'll both need to face this. I wonder who it is?"  
  
"Knowing our usual luck?" Robert sighed. "Admiral Davies coming to give us a surprise inspection."  
  
"But we're in repair dock undergoing heavy repairs…" Julia sighed and rolled her eyes. "So yeah, of course."  
  
Once on Deck 10 they made their way to the starboard side of the primary hull. The airlock door was still secure when they got there. An Alakin female, Lieutenant Charrip, was present with a small security detachment. "The airlock officer summoned me, sir," she said. "Just in case."  
  
Robert nodded and stepped up to the airlock door. At that point he knew who was on the other side. He couldn't help but feel the sheer power. "Bridge, ready the emergency airlock security protocol," he said into his multidevice. "If you see anyone force their way onboard, trigger it. Hell, if I don't give you the clearance signal and I start to let them aboard anyway, trigger it."  
  
Pacetti showed no hesitation. He responded immediately with an, " _Aye Captain._ "  
  
Julia gave him a look. "That's a bit excessive."  
  
"After the other day, I'm not taking chances," Robert answered as he opened the airlock door. He stepped into the airlock as the other end opened as well.  
  
Seven figures stepped in. All were in red Gersallian robes, and all wore the same purple body armor Meridina favored. The lead among them was a bald man with tanned skin. He looked at Robert through alert eyes and, Robert could feel, a supremely tuned _swevyra_ /life force. "I am Hajamar, a _swevyra'se_ of Gersal and Knight-Sergeant-At-Arms of the Order of Swenya. My Knights and I have come to seek justice."  
  
"If you're after the crazy lady who got away from the Senate attack, you're wasting your time here," Robert replied.  
  
"That is not our duty," Hajamar answered. "You are Captain Robert Dale?"  
  
"I am."  
  
Hajamar handed him a Gersallian datapad. It held text in Gersallian and an English translation beside it. Robert read over it, but Hajamar made sure to pronounce its contents. "By order of the Council of the Order of Swenya, I have come to arrest the Knight Meridina, daughter of Karesl of the Family of Lumantala."  
  
Robert's jaw dropped in surprise. "... _what_?", he finally managed.  
  
"Knight Meridina is wanted for treason against the Council and its commands, and of the Code of Swenya," Hajamar continued. "And we will take her into custody, Captain Dale."  
  
"Like hell," Robert snarled. Behind him, Julia and Angel crossed their arms and stepped closer, as if to support him against the long odds. "This is _my_ ship, and a starship of the Alliance Stellar Navy. We don't answer to your Order. If they want Meridina, they can go through the proper channels."  
  
Hajamar narrowed his eyes. "I see she has trained you as well," he said. "Another proof of her treason."  
  
"She's been teaching me control of this power, nothing more," Robert asserted. "Now, I suggest you leave and go through the Admiralty and Defense Command or even the courts, but I'm not handing Meridina over on your say so."  
  
"We won't let the traitor escape us," Hajamar warned.  
  
"Then camp out there for all I care," Robert retorted. "But if you step one foot on my ship, my crew has orders to blow the airlock and seal it behind us. And I know you're powerful, but I wonder if even you people can resist explosive decompression."  
  
Hajamar seemed to consider it. "You are deceiving us," he said. "You would be taken too, as would your officers."  
  
"Yeah," Robert said. "But my crew will probably beam me and my people back before we hit the wall of the drydock. Depending on how fast the safety people respond, well, do you think you'll be that lucky?" He went eye to eye with the Knight, glaring into his brown eyes. " _Are you willing to take that chance?_ "  
  
And he was clearly considering it. Robert could see that. Hajamar and his Knights weren't pushovers, and they knew their thing, and the fact was Robert was more outmatched here than he'd ever been in this sort of situation. Not even being cornered by Fassbinder and his SS at the Gamma Piratus Facility was this bad.  
  
"Please, stop."  
  
Robert turned. Meridina and Lucy were entering the airlock. Lucy looked bewildered, but Meridina had a sort of strange calm, even if it was covering immense doubt and… even despair, Robert thought.  
  
"Knight Meridina," Hajamar said.  
  
"Knight Hajamar." Meridina nodded respectfully to him. She reached to her belt and pulled out her _lakesh_ hilt.  
  
Hajamar's Knights all went for their blades. A chorus of metallic shrieks accompanied the extension of a half dozen _lakesh_ es.  
  
Lucy almost reached for hers, and Angel was clenching her fists for a fight. But Meridina looked to her and shook her head. She looked back to Hajamar and held her right palm up, the hilt laid on the palm. Robert felt her power grip it and levitate the hilt. It moved slowly through the air toward Hajamar.  
  
Hajamar opened his palm. The weapon accelerated, too fast for Robert to intercept it, and landed square in his palm.  
  
Meridina stepped up beside them and looked to the four. "I am honored to have known you all," she said. "Thank you for making me feel as if we were family. I am humbled by your generosity of spirit and your courage. _Mi rake sa swevyra iso._ " She turned back to Hajamar. She put her wrists together and extended them forward. "Knight Hajamar, I surrender myself to the Knights of the Temple. I am ready for judgement."  
  
Hajamar's expression softened. His eyes showed a glimmer of compassion. His reply was a wordless nod. From his own belt came a set of metal shackles.  
  
"You can't do this!", Lucy screamed. She looked to Robert. "Stop them! _Stop her!_ "  
  
Robert swallowed and looked to Lucy, who looked like she was about to cry. "I can't, Lucy," he said. "She's going with them of her own free will."  
  
"There has to be a regulation about this!" Lucy looked to Julia next. "Isn't there? She's an officer of the ship! They can't just march her off!"  
  
"Maybe if we were on active duty, we could order her to not surrender," Julia said. "But we're in drydock, Lucy. The entire crew is in stand down. I mean, if she wanted me to I could fight this…"  
  
By now Hajamar had fixed the shackles to Meridina's ankles as well. Lengths of tritanium chain, starship hull grade, now bound Meridina's limbs to a ring of the same material. The chain rattled as Meridina took her first steps, now standing between the seven Knights in red. She looked back to Lucy with tears in her blue eyes. "Goodbye, Lucy," she said. "You will find your way. I believe in you."  
  
Hajamar gave a blunt, but not hostile, order in Gersallian. Meridina turned away and began to walk in time with her jailers.  
  
Robert could feel Lucy's _swevyra_ crackle with power. She was going to attack. Before she could he grabbed her by the arms. "No!", he hissed. "Not here, not this way!"  
  
"This isn't right!", Lucy shouted. "She didn't do anything wrong! She's the purest, most noble woman I've ever met!"  
  
"Yes, she is," Julia said. "But starting a fight here won't help her. We've got to fight this another way."  
  
"How?", Lucy demanded.  
  
"I don't know yet." Robert looked back down the airlock tube. The far airlock door slid to a shit, cutting off their view of Meridina. "But this isn't over." A look of grim determination crossed his face.  
  
Upon seeing it, the same crossed Lucy's face as well. Angel and Julia both nodded in agreement.  
  
"Meridina is family. And we're going to help her any way we can," Robert vowed.


End file.
